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deve

deva

masc acc pl of deva (noun); masc loc sg of deva (noun)

1. deity; god
2. king; lord
3. rain god; rain cloud; lit. god; i.e. Indra, god of the heavens
4. sky; heavens; lit. god; i.e. Indra, god of the heavens

Etymology. From PIE *dyew- 'sky, shine' (root of Sanskrit deva, Latin deus, English Tuesday < Tiw-). The concrete sense 'shining one' or 'sky-dweller' became 'deity'. The term absorbed local rain and fertility deities into a unified pantheon.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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