deva
- Hinduism, Buddhism. a god or divinity.
- Zoroastrianism. one of an order of evil spirits.
Origin of deva
Examples from the Web for deva
Historical Examples of deva
And yet we know that there never was such a Deva, or god, or such a thing as Varuna.
India: What can it teach us?F. Max Mller
The positive force you call the Deva or Sura; his face is turned, it seems, to God.
AvatrasAnnie Besant
That gives them a special affinity for one Deva rather than for another.
Evolution of Life and FormAnnie Wood Besant
And perhaps, while he is about it, he might get killed in a Deva gorge.
Northern SpainEdgar T. A. Wigram
It is the great caon of the Deva, one of the finest passes in the world.
Northern SpainEdgar T. A. Wigram
deva
- (in Hinduism and Buddhism) a divine being or god
Word Origin for deva
Word Origin and History for deva
"god, good spirit" in Hindu religion, from Sanskrit deva "a god," originally "a shining one," from *div- "to shine," thus cognate with Greek dios "divine" and Zeus, and Latin deus "god" (Old Latin deivos); see Zeus.
Fem. form devi is used for "goddess," also (with capital D-) for the mother goddess in Hinduism. Hence, also, devadasi "temple dancing girl," literally "female servant of a god," from dasi "slave girl." Also Devanagari, the formal alphabet of Sanskrit writings, perhaps originally "divine city script," from nagara "city."