ennead

American  

[en-ee-ad] / ˈɛn iˌæd /

noun

1. a group of nine persons or things.

2. Egyptian Religion.

   1. (initial capital letter) a group of nine related deities, including Osiris, Isis, and Set, whose lineage and functions were arranged and explained by the theologians of Heliopolis.

   2. any group of deities arranged in a similar way, often more or less than nine in number.

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ennead British  

/ ˈɛnɪˌæd /

noun

1. a group or series of nine

2. the sum of or number nine

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Other Word Forms

• enneadic adjective

Etymology

Origin of ennead

1645–55; < Greek ennead- (stem of enneás ), equivalent to enné ( a ) nine + -ad- -ad ¹

Example Sentences

An ennead could mean any group of nine deities that operate together, but the most well known is the Great Ennead of Heliopolis.

From Los Angeles Times

A group of nine is called an ennead.

From BBC

His arrangement by enneads, or series of nine, is fanciful, and wanting in inner principle.

From Project Gutenberg

Generally there are three; in many places there is an ennead, a nine of gods, but the nine is a round number; there might be one or two less or more.

From Project Gutenberg

Another branch of the sacred books survives in the formal theology of the schools which grouped gods together in trinities or enneads.

From Project Gutenberg