Celtic deity
- noun
- /ˈkɛltɪk ˈdiːəti/
- Literature
- The people would gather around the fire to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
Examples
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During festivals, families would offer gifts to their favorite Celtic deity to seek blessings.
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The ancient Celts held rituals to honor their Celtic deity in the woods.
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Many stories feature a Celtic deity known for their wisdom and strength.
Synonyms
A god or goddess that people worship and think has power over part of the world
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a god or goddess worshipped by the ancient Celts' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'Celtic' (pertaining to the Celts) with 'deity' (a god). This straightforward adjective+noun composition is a common, compositional pattern cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Celtic deity comes from the people called the Celts and the gods they worshipped. Picture a sacred grove or standing stone where people left gifts and prayed to a deity. That's why the phrase means 'a god or goddess worshipped by the ancient Celts'.