goddess
See also: Goddess
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English goddesse, equivalent to god + -ess, formed about 1350. The figurative meaning is first found in Spenser's Shepheardes calender (1579). Displaced Old English gyden.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: gŏd'ĕs, enPR: gäd'ǐs, IPA(key): /ˈɡɒdɛs/, /-ɪs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɡɑdəs/, /-ɛs/
Audio (General American): (file) - Hyphenation: god‧dess
Noun
editgoddess (plural goddesses)
- (religion) A female deity.
- (figuratively) A woman honored or adored as physically attractive or of superior charm and intelligence.
- 2014, Mary Castillo, Caridad Pineiro Scordato, Berta Platas, Friday Night Chicas: Sexy Stories from La Noche, page 216:
- The girls who had tormented me in high school had fallen, hard, from their pedestals. The cheerleader goddesses were Wal-Mart moms, wearing enough eyeliner and dark shadow to supply a Goth nightclub for a month.
- (figuratively) A woman of substantial authority or influence.
Hypernyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
editfemale deity
|
adored or idealized woman
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also
editCategories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms suffixed with -ess (female)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Religion
- English terms with quotations
- en:Gods
- en:Female