apotheosis
/əˌpɑ.θiˈoʊ.sɪs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.43 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
5
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Glorification, exaltation; crediting someone or something with extraordinary power or status.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A glorified example or ideal; the apex or pinnacle (of a concept or belief).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The best moment or highest point in the development of something, for example of a life or career; the apex, culmination, or climax (of a development).
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "In Rome itself the official position was clear: the apotheosis of the emperor took place only after his death; this had to be officially recognized by the Senate, and only then did the emperor become a divus with an official cult."
- "As a former mortal who underwent apotheosis, Hercules was important to the emperors."
- "The turn of the century saw the apotheosis of digital technology."
- "In the eyes of Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke the apotheosis of the Celebrity was complete. The people of Asquith were not only willing to attend the house-warming, but had been worked up to the pitch of eagerness. The Celebrity as a matter of course was master of ceremonies."
- "Thereafter, the caterpillar achieved a sort of posthumous apotheosis. From local authority to the Dorchester magistrates, from the Dorchester magistrates to a Divisional Court presided over by the Lord Chief Justice of England, from the Lord Chief Justice to the House of Lords, the immolated insect has at length plodded its methodical way to the highest tribunal in the land."
- "In his despair he had nowhere to turn. It is the very apotheosis of the place and the time."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Hellenic *apó Ancient Greek ᾰ̓πό (ăpó) Ancient Greek ἀπο- (apo-) Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁sós Proto-Hellenic *tʰehós Ancient Greek θεός (theós) Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-oyétider.? Ancient Greek -όω (-óō) Ancient Greek ἀποθεόω (apotheóō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Ancient Greek ἀποθέωσις (apothéōsis)bor. Latin apotheōsisbor. English apotheosis Borrowed from Latin apotheōsis, from Ancient Greek ἀποθέωσις (apothéōsis), from verb ἀποθεόω (apotheóō, “deify”) (factitive verb formed from θεός (theós, “God”) with intensive prefix ἀπο- (apo-)) + -σις (-sis, “forms noun of action”). By surface analysis, apo- + theo- + -sis.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ἀποθέωσις
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˌpɑ.θiˈoʊ.sɪs/
- British English: /əˌpɒθ.iːˈəʊ.sɪs/