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devesu

deva

masc loc 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, sky
  From *dyeu-, the Indo-European root for 'bright' and 'sky'. Cognates: Sanskrit deva, Latin deus, Greek Zeus (from *dyeus), English divine. The bright sky-realm gave rise to the sense 'divine being' inhabiting it.
• -a — ending · nominative singular masculine
  The citation form; in this word, devesu is the locative plural of this a-stem noun.
• -su — ending · locative plural
  Marks the place where something is situated or happens ('among the gods', 'in the heavens'). The suffix -su is the plural locative ending for masculine nouns of the a-declension.

Etymology. From Indo-European *dyeu- 'sky, shine', the same root as Sanskrit deva, Latin deus, Greek Zeus, and English divine. The root sense 'bright, shining' (the sky) became 'shining one' (deity); compare Latin Iuppiter from *dyeu-pater 'sky-father'. In Pali texts, devas inhabit the heavens and are often portrayed as powerful but not ultimate—only the Buddha transcends them.

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

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