Greek deity

1 7.2

A god or goddess from ancient Greece who people worship

noun
/ɡrik ˈdiːəti/

Literature

: deidad griega

The stories of Greek deities such as Poseidon and Hades reflect the beliefs of ancient Greek culture.

Examples

She's a Greek deity.

Catch and Release (2006)
In ancient times, people worshipped the Greek deity Zeus, believing he controlled the sky and thunder.
Many myths surround the Greek deity Athena, who was revered as the goddess of wisdom and warfare.

Synonyms

deity

vsGreek deity

62 7.4

A god or goddess that people worship and think has power over part of the world

is limited to those worshipped within ancient Greek religion rather than generally

divinity

vsGreek deity

14 7.9

A god worshipped as controlling a part of nature

is restricted to those worshipped specifically in ancient Greek religion

How Powerful

Godhead

Specialized

5 9.9

Olympian

Literature

1 8.2

Greek deity

Literature

1 7.2

demigod

Literature

10 8.1

godlet

Literature

9.9

Surface Forms

Greek deity singular

Greek deities plural

Morphology

Greek + deity

The meaning is fully compositional: 'Greek' specifies cultural/national origin and 'deity' denotes a god or goddess, so together they denote a god/goddess of Greek religion. This modifier + noun pattern is transparent and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily derive the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Greek deity comes from the many stories and temple statues of ancient Greece, where people imagined powerful Greek deities living on Mount Olympus. That's why Greek deity means 'a god or goddess worshipped in ancient Greek religion'.