Mithra

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A revered deity associated with light and truth in ancient Persian and Indian culture who played a key role in both Zoroastrianism and Roman religion
2. A god worshiped in ancient Persia and India symbolizing contracts, the sun, and moral order
3. A divine figure popular in ancient Middle Eastern religions representing light, justice, and loyalty

Etymology: Mithra is the Greek and Latin-era spelling of the name of an Iranian divine figure whose name goes back to the same root as the Sanskrit word for "friend." The Avestan form, "miθra," comes from Proto-Indo-Iranian "mitrás," a word that literally meant something like "that which binds," tracing back to a prehistoric root meaning "to bind." Friendship and contract were, in this sense, the same idea: a bond that holds people together. The god in the Avesta was associated with covenants, oaths and contracts, and he watched over agreements between people. The name has a twin in the Indian tradition, where "Mitra" is also a deity linked with oaths and with the sun, so the two forms are doublets descended from one ancient word.