deity

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noun de·i·ty \ ˈdē-ə-tē , ˈdā- \

Definition of deity

plural deities

1 a :the rank or essential nature of a god :divinity

b capitalized :god 1, supreme being

2 :a god (see ¹god 2) or goddess

the deities of ancient Greece

3 :one exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful

such established American deities as Daniel Boone, Kit Carson
—J. D. Hart

the deities of the banking world

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Examples of deity in a Sentence

to the ancient Greeks, Zeus was the deity who ruled over the sky and weather, and Poseidon was god of the sea
we prayed to the Deity for guidance

Recent Examples of deity from the Web

A sacred renewal The sun and moon are powerful deities in Navajo culture.

— shondiin silversmith, USA TODAY, "Navajos mark solar eclipse as sacred phenomenon — by not watching," 21 Aug. 2017
Many tribes revere the sun and moon as cultural deities, great sources of power and giver of life.

— felicia fonseca, The Seattle Times, "Tribes hope for renewal in solar eclipse; not all will watch," 19 Aug. 2017
The cocktails are fun, named for Korean deities and folklore characters.

— polly campbell, Cincinnati.com, "Explore the soul of Korean food in Hyde Park at 3501 Seoul: ⭐⭐⭐⭐," 3 Aug. 2017
The Many-Faced God This is the deity worshipped by the Faceless Men, the assassins with whom Arya Stark recently trained.

— eliza thompson, Cosmopolitan, "A Guide to the Many Religions on Game of Thrones," 13 July 2017
Indeed barnacles, sea fans, and myriad coral stud and enshroud bronze deities, triumphant warriors, and even an occasional Walt Disney character.

— noelle swan, The Christian Science Monitor, "Damien Hirst returns with art exploring mythology," 27 June 2017
The massive idols flanking each side were silent deities blessing the dancers below.

— kat bein, Billboard, "The 10 Crazy-Coolest Things We Saw at Electric Forest 2017," 27 June 2017
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The baseball deities tend to laugh at our gut feelings.

— cleveland.com, "Trevor Bauer continues to wonder when Lady Luck will befriend him: Zack Meisel's musings," 24 June 2017
But while his career is rising, the prolific and proficient guitarist, who often gets compared to Emerald City deity Jimi Hendrix, has kept his home city interwoven throughout his new, riff-centric album.

— jake uitti, The Seattle Times, "Seattle’s Ayron Jones: We need rock ’n’ roll more than ever," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of deity

Middle English deitee, from Anglo-French deité, from Late Latin deitat-, deitas, from Latin deus god; akin to Old English Tīw, god of war, Latin divus god, dies day, Greek dios heavenly, Sanskrit deva heavenly, god

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First Known Use: 14th century

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