semideus

Forms

sēmideus m (genitive sēmideī); second declension^[1] Lewis and Short and Georges also treat it as an adjective, sēmideus, -a, -um.^[2][3] The genitive plural is often sēmideum, as in Statius.^[3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin sēmi- (“half-”) + deus (“god”).^[4][5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Ovid, both as a noun, “demigod”, in the Metamorphoses (1.192, 14.673: semideique deique, “demigods and gods”), and as an adjective, “half-divine”, of the Dryads in the Heroides.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Post-Augustan poets used it of heroes and other beings between gods and men: Statius calls the Argonauts semidei reges and the Pans semideum pecus,^[2][7] and Lucan calls Anubis a semideus canis.^[2][6] Ausonius has the feminine sēmidea of the Sirens, and Prudentius applies the word to Rome.^[2][3]

Augustine reports that Labeo thought Plato should be counted among the demigods,^[3] a remark that John of Salisbury repeats in medieval Britain.^[8] English demigod (1520s) was made to render the Latin word.^[9]

Timeline

• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of demigods and of the half-divine Dryads.^[2][10]
• c. 45–96 AD – Statius calls the Argonauts semidei reges.^[2][10]
• c. 310–394 AD – Ausonius calls the Sirens semideae.^[2][10]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine reports Labeo's view of Plato as a demigod.^[3][10]
• 1520s – English demigod is formed to render it.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Half-divine, partly divine.^[4][2]

Noun

1. A demigod, a semi-divine being.^[4][2]

Related words

• English demigod

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de