Apotheosizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To raise an individual or concept to a god-like status through veneration and acclaim
2. To glorify a person or idea to the extent that it becomes worthy of worship and admiration
3. The act of honoring someone or something as if divine, attributing ultimate perfection or worth

Etymology: Apotheosis comes from Greek "apotheōsis," literally a making into a god, built from "apo-" (away, off) and "theos" (god). The Greek verb "apotheoō" meant to deify, and the Romans borrowed the noun as "apotheosis," which English took directly from Latin, so the older sense of the word is a literal elevation to godhood, not a figure of speech. The verb "apotheosize" was formed in English from "apotheosis" with the suffix "-ize," a productive ending that turns nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning to make or treat something a certain way. The suffix itself came through Greek "-izein," passed through Late Latin "-izare," then Old French, and entered English through Middle English. "Apotheosizing" is the form of the verb used for the ongoing act of treating someone or something as divine, so a writer describing a crowd or a poet raising a hero to near-godlike status would use it.