deva

American  

[dey-vuh] / ˈdeɪ və /

noun

1. Hinduism, Buddhism. a god or divinity.

2. Zoroastrianism. one of an order of evil spirits.

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deva British  

/ ˈdeɪvə /

noun

1. (in Hinduism and Buddhism) a divine being or god

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Etymology

Origin of deva

From Sanskrit

Example Sentences

In Buddhism, matchmaking parents—sponsors—of a prospective couple are encouraged to consult an astrologist and, if unsuccessful, are urged to query an inner-world deva.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 4, 2019

But at all events we know from deva and the Latin deus, that even before the Aryan separation a root dyu or div had been formed, as well as the conception “shine.”

From The Silesian Horseherd - Questions of the Hour by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

The dictionaries tell you that deva means god and gods, and so, no doubt, it does.

From India: What can it teach us? A Course of Lectures Delivered before the University Of Cambridge by Wilder, Alexander

We can see, in fact, how in the minds of the poets of the Veda, deva from meaning bright, came gradually to mean divine.

From Chips From A German Workshop - Volume I Essays on the Science of Religion by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

But if we always translated deva in the Vedic hymns by god, we should not be translating, but completely transforming the thoughts of the Vedic poets.

From India: What can it teach us? A Course of Lectures Delivered before the University Of Cambridge by Wilder, Alexander