Etymograph

English

deificate

Deificate comes from Latin deificō ‘to make a god, deify’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dyew- ‘to be bright, to shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-1‘to be bright, to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deywós1‘god’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwos1‘god, deity’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEdeivos1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdeus1‘god’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdeificō2‘to make a god, deify’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1995deificate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin deifico
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English deificate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Eric Lessard, Gilles flamefest - First and Last Answer From E.Lessard (Cor: “Maybe one day if they like racing and they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-Wiktionary, Latin deifico‘to be bright, to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deywósWiktionary, Latin deifico‘god’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwosWiktionary, Latin deifico‘god, deity’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEdeivosWiktionary, Latin deifico
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdeusWiktionary, Latin deifico‘god’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdeificōWiktionary, English deificate‘to make a god, deify’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1995deificateWiktionary, English deificate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Eric Lessard, Gilles flamefest - First and Last Answer From E.Lessard (Cor: “Maybe one day if they like racing and they…”

The story

For its use by non-native speakers, compare Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish deificar and Italian deificare, from Latin deificō.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dyew- ‘to be bright, to shine’

die, journal, journey, diary, dial, dev, meridian, sojourn, jovial, diurnal, deism, 27 more

through Proto-Indo-European *deywós ‘god’

div, deva, 14 more

through Proto-Italic *deiwos ‘god, deity’

divinity, diva, divination, diviner, 10 more

through Old Latin deivos

divine, 8 more

through Latin deus ‘god’

deity, joss, deuce, deist, 8 more

Today it means

verb To deify.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “deificate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin deifico. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dyew- / deificate

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