Daimon

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdʌɪməʊn/

Definitions

1. A supernatural entity or spirit often believed to influence human affairs and embody divine power
2. A mystical or divine presence considered to act as an intermediary between gods and humans
3. An otherworldly or spiritual force thought to guide or affect people's lives in various traditions

Etymology: The Greek word "daimon" originally meant something like "the one who divides" or "dispenser," a tutelary power that apportioned a person's fortune or fate. Its link to the English word "demon" is closer than most people expect: the two are doublets, meaning they descend from the same Greek source but reached English by different routes. "Demon" came to carry the sense of evil spirits through early Christian writing, which cast the older Greek spirits as malign beings. English speakers adopted the Greek form itself later, as a deliberate choice to keep the ancient meaning apart from the sinister associations that "demon" had acquired. The spelling preserves the original Greek sense of a benevolent or neutral intermediary between the divine and the human, not a hostile spirit. The word also shares a Greek root with "Lacedaemon," the ancient name for Sparta, which means something like "Laconian dispenser."