deity

[dee-i-tee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural de·i·ties.

a god or goddess.

divine character or nature, especially that of the Supreme Being; divinity.

the estate or rank of a god: The king attained deity after his death.

a person or thing revered as a god or goddess: a society in which money is the only deity.

the Deity, God; Supreme Being.

Origin of deity

1250–1300; Middle English deite < Old French < Late Latin deitāt- (stem of deitās), equivalent to Latin dei- (combining form of deus god) + -tāt- -ty², formed after Latin dīvīnitās divinity

Related formssu·per·de·i·ty, noun, plural su·per·de·i·ties.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for deity

divinity, idol, immortal, creator, goddess, godhead, celestial, demigoddess

Examples from the Web for deity

Contemporary Examples of deity

Beyoncé has, for close to a decade now, been a deity in entertainment: untouchable, successful, divine.
Bow Down, Bitches: How Beyoncé Turned an Elevator Brawl Into a Perfect Year
Kevin Fallon
December 31, 2014
For his tireless assault on evolutionary biology and downsizing the deity to fit within science, I give Meyer second place.
2014: Revenge of the Creationists
Karl W. Giberson
December 27, 2014
He loomed like a god above us, as much a presence as any deity, and God knows he was accepted as such.
How I Learned to Hate Robert E. Lee
Christopher Dickey
June 22, 2014
Sure, the characters call their deity "The Creator" rather than "God."
‘Noah’ Review: An Ambitious, Flawed Biblical Tale That You Have to See
Andrew Romano
March 28, 2014
He is one of the biggest-selling literary novelists in the world, and practically a deity in Japan.
How Good Is Murakami?
Rob Verger
June 24, 2013

Historical Examples of deity

One might have been a model for the seraphs of Christian faith, the other an Olympian deity.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
The ceremony is gone through for the sake of pleasing a deity.
Understanding the Scriptures
Francis McConnell
A meaner temple was never consecrated to the worship of the Deity.
Main Street
Nathaniel Hawthorne
And so may the temple fall with its deity of falsehood and servitude!
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
Adam evidently only knew the Deity as the Creator of all things.
A Theological-Political Treatise [Part I]
Benedict of Spinoza

British Dictionary definitions for deity

deity

noun plural -ties

a god or goddess

the state of being divine; godhead

the rank, status, or position of a god

the nature or character of God

Word Origin for deity

C14: from Old French, from Late Latin deitās, from Latin deus god

Deity

noun

the Deity the Supreme Being; God

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deity

c.1300, "divine nature;" late 14c., "a god," from Old French deité, from Late Latin deitatem (nominative deitas) "divine nature," coined by Augustine from Latin deus "god," from PIE *deiwos (see Zeus).