demigod

Definition

A half-god or hero; the offspring of a deity and a mortal.

Etymology

From demi- + god. Calque of the Latin semideus (“half-god”), which is probably a coining by the Roman poet Ovid for less important gods such as dryads.

Example Sentences

• ""Ah! he is one of your idols, I suppose," said Lord Norbourne, with a slight approach to a sneer. "Youth is prone to admire; but it is odd how, in a few years, we discover the defects of our demigods..."
• "He finds, not “demigods” but “ a combative group of exhausted, drunken, broken, petty, partisan, scheming, squabbling, bloviating, sensory-deprived, underoxygenated, fed-up, talked-out, overheated delegates so distraught they threatened violence, secession."