demigod

See also: demi-god

English

Väinämöinen - a demigod in Finnish folklore

Alternative forms

• demi-god

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛmiɡɒd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛmiɡɑd/

Noun

demigod (plural demigods)

1. (mythology) A half-god or hero; the offspring of a deity and a mortal.
2. Someone held up for reverence as a supreme example.
   • 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:

     "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...

   • 2013, The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy:

     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.

Synonyms

• (offspring of a deity and a mortal): half-god, hero
• (someone held up in reverence): icon, idol

Derived terms

• demigodhood

 

Translations

a half-god or hero

• Arabic: نِصْف إِلٰه m (niṣf ʔilāh)
• Armenian: կիսաստված (hy) (kisastvac), դյուցազն (hy) (dyucʻazn)
• Belarusian: паўбо́г m (paŭbóh)
• Bulgarian: полубо́г m (polubóg)
• Catalan: semidéu (ca) m, semideessa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 半神半人 (zh) (bànshénbànrén), 半神 (bànshén)

• Czech: polobůh (cs) m
• Danish: halvgud c, halvgud c
• Dutch: halfgod (nl) m
• Estonian: pooljumal
• Finnish: puolijumala (fi)
• French: demi-dieu (fr) m
• Galician: semideus (gl) m
• German: Halbgott (de) m
• Greek: ημίθεος (el) m (imítheos), ήρωας (el) m (íroas)

  Ancient: ἡμίθεος m (hēmítheos)

• Hungarian: félisten (hu)
• Ido: mideo (io)
• Indonesian: setengah dewa
• Italian: semidio (it) m
• Japanese: 半神 (はんしん, hanshin)
• Kazakh: жартылай құдай (jartylai qūdai)
• Korean: 반신반인 (ko) (bansinbanin), 반신 (ko) (bansin)
• Latin: sēmideus m
• Macedonian: полубог m (polubog)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: halvgud m

  Nynorsk: halvgud m

• Persian: نیم‌ایزد (nim-izad), نیمخدا (nimxodâ)
• Polish: półbóg (pl) m
• Portuguese: semideus (pt) m
• Romanian: semizeu (ro) m
• Russian: полубо́г (ru) m (polubóx)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̏лубо̄г m

  Roman: pȍlubōg (sh) m,

• Slovak: poloboh m
• Slovene: polbog (sl) m
• Spanish: semidiós m
• Swahili: nusumungu
• Swedish: halvgud (sv) c
• Turkish: yarıtanrı
• Ukrainian: напівбо́г m (napivbóh)
• Vietnamese: á thần (vi)
• Volapük: (male or female) lafagod (vo)

a lesser deity

• Catalan: semidéu (ca) m, semideessa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 次神 (cìshén)

• Danish: halvgud c
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} godje (nl) n, lagere godheid
• Finnish: puolijumala (fi)
• German: Halbgott (de) m
• Greek: ημίθεος (el) m (imítheos)
• Hungarian: félisten (hu)
• Italian: semidio (it) m
• Macedonian: полубожество n (polubožestvo)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: halvgud m

  Nynorsk: halvgud m

• Polish: bóstwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: semideus (pt) m
• Russian: божество́ (ru) n (božestvó), полубо́г (ru) m (polubóx), божо́к (ru) m (božók)
• Swahili: nusumungu

Anagrams

• Megiddo