deiform

American  

[dee-uh-fawrm] / ˈdi əˌfɔrm /

adjective

1. godlike or divine in form or nature.

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deiform British  

/ ˈdiːɪˌfɔːm /

adjective

1. having the form or appearance of a god; sacred or divine

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Other Word Forms

• deiformity noun

Etymology

Origin of deiform

1635–45; < Medieval Latin deiformis, equivalent to Latin dei- (combining form of deus god) + -formis -form

Explanation

Some celebrities — such as an unbeatable athlete, or a pop star who is adored by millions of fans — come to have an almost deiform, or "godlike" public image. They are almost worshipped. Deiform comes from medieval Latin, combining dei-, "of god," with formis, "form." It’s a word that comes up most often in philosophy and theology, but sometimes in other writing, too. Some philosophers and theologians believe that every person has a deiform soul, a soul that is like the divine. In some religions, angels are deiform beings, since they are pure spirit, holy, and glorious, like God or a god.

Example Sentences

Man’s spirit, having relations with every grade of reality, has also in its ‘fathomless ground’ a potential relation with this superessential sphere; and until this be actualised he is not wholly real, nor wholly deiform.

From Ruysbroeck by Underhill, Evelyn

But by this light the rational creature is made deiform, as is said in this article.

From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint

His intellect was patrician—almost deiform in the old Roman sense.

From The Orchard of Tears by Rohmer, Sax

For a life subsisting according to will alone subsists according to good, because the will naturally tends to good, and such a life makes that which is characteristic in us most powerful and deiform.

From Introduction to the Philosophy and Writings of Plato by Taylor, Thomas

The fifth and sixth represent the two great forms of the Contemplative Life as conceived by Ruysbroeck: the ecstatic and the deiform.

From Ruysbroeck by Underhill, Evelyn