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devato

deva

masc abl sg of deva (noun); masc abl pl of deva (noun)

1. deity; god
2. king; lord
3. rain god; rain cloud; lit. god; i.e. Indra, god of the heavens
4. sky; heavens; lit. god; i.e. Indra, god of the heavens

Built from

• dev — root · shine; gleam
  From PIE *dyew- 'to shine, be bright'. Cognate with Latin dīvus, Sanskrit deva. The shining celestial beings.
• a — ending · nom/acc sg (stem vowel)
  Thematic -a ending that marks the masculine noun class in Pali.
• to — ending · abl sg/pl
  Ablative ending -to (singular or plural) expressing 'from, by, of' the deity or divine realm.

Etymology. From √div 'to shine', cognate with Latin dīvus 'divine', English divine. The root captures the concrete imagery of brightness and the upper heavens—devas as the shining ones dwelling in light.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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