Godlike

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɑdlaɪk/

Definitions

1. Possessing extraordinary power, beauty, or excellence that resembles or suggests a deity
2. resembling or suggesting a divine being in power, majesty, or perfection
3. having the supreme qualities, magnificence, or authority characteristic of a god

Etymology: "Godlike" is a plain compound: "god" joined to the suffix "-like," which means "resembling" or "having the qualities of." Both parts go back a long way in English. "God" descends from Old English "god," which traces to Proto-Germanic "gudą," and the suffix comes from Proto-Germanic "-līkaz," which gave Old English "-līċ," the ancestor of the "-like" we use today. The suffix is the more productive half of the story. In Old English, "-līċ" was attached to nouns and adjectives to make new descriptive words, and that habit carried into Middle English, where "-like" was used the same way. "Godlike" thus follows a pattern that English speakers could extend freely, producing words that describe something as resembling a god, or possessing a god's qualities of supremacy and majesty.

Synonyms: divine, deific, heavenly, celestial, sublime

Antonyms: mortal, earthly, human, mundane, ordinary