demigod
nounUK /ˈdɛmiɡɒd/ · US /ˈdɛmiɡɑd/
Etymology From demi- + god. Calque of the Latin semideus (“half-god”), which is probably a coining by the Roman poet Ovid for less important gods such as dryads.
1
Human sciences, Mysticism, Mythology, Philosophy, Sciences A half-god or hero; the offspring of a deity and a mortal.
2
Someone held up for reverence as a supreme example.
- "Ah! he is one of your idols, I suppose," said Lord Norbourne, with a slight approach to a sneer. "Youth is prone to admire; but it is odd how, in a few years, we discover the defects of our demigods...1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Different Views of Youth and Age”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 99:
- He finds, not “demigods” but “ a combative group of exhausted, drunken, broken, petty, partisan, scheming, squabbling, bloviating, sensory-deprived, underoxygenated, fed-up, talked-out, overheated delegates so distraught they threatened violence, secession.2013, The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy:
- Derived terms
- Demigod, demigodhood, demigodly