Deicide

[It. deicidio; Lat. deus, and cædo, to kill.] The act of putting to death one of divine origi. and nature; specifically, the taking away the life of Jesus Christ, the Saviour. "Earth prof an'd, yet ble 'd with deicide."-Prior. -One engaged in the crucifixion of our Lord. Deidesheim, ( di'des - hi me ,) a town of Rhenish Bavaria, 13 m. W.N.W. of Speyer, noted for the celebrated Dei desheimer wine, one of the most excellent kinds of white Rhenish wines; pop . 2,700. Deif'ic, Deifical, a . [From Lat. deus , and facio , to make.] Making divine; divine; pertaining or relating to God, or to the gods of heathen mythology. Deification, n. The act of deifying, or of exalting to the rank of a deity; treating as a deity. See APOTHEOSIS. De'ifier, n. One who deifies, or venerates as a god. De'iform, a . [Lat. deus , and form a , form.] Of a god like form; resembling a god. De'ify, v. a. [Fr.; Lat. deus , and facio , to make.] To make into a god; to exalt to the rank of a heathen deity; to enroll among the deities. "Renowned on earth, and deified above."-Dryden. -To treat as if a deity or god; to exalt to a deity in est i mation; to extol and venerate as an object of chiefest regard. "Persuade the covetous man not to deify his money."-South. IMG:content-0545.jpg:[graphic] tion. "Nor would we deign him burial of his men Till he had disbursed ten you sand dollars."-Shaks. De'i Gra'tia,[Lat., by the grace of God,) a formula which many European sovereigns add to their title, and which is taken from an expre ion of the apostle Paul in the New Testament. It was first used by the clergy in the time of Const an tine the Great, as an expre ion of dependence upon the grace of God; and afterwards the higher clergy came to use along with it the addition, et apostolicæ sed is (by the grace of God and the apostolic see). In the time of the Car loving i an race the secular princes also a umed it; and in course of time it came to be regarded as a erting something like the divine right of kings, and their independence of any earthly power. Deil, n. [Scot.] A Scotticism for the devil. Deinac'rid a, n. ( Entom .) A genus of the Orthoptera , belonging to the Cricket family, of which a good example is the great New Zealand cricket ( D. het era canthi a), Fig . 785. NEW ZEALAND GREAT CRICKET. (Deinacrida het era canthi a.) shown in the illustration. This has been referred to as a peculiarly formidable insect, generally inhabiting old and decaying trees, where it secrets itself in the rents and crevices. It is carnivorous, and its bite is severe. The wonderful stories told of this insect by certain early travellers have not been substantiated by later research. Dei no the'rium, DINOTHERIUM,n. [Gr. deinos , terrible, and therion, beast.) ( Zool .) The name of a fo il genus of gigantic Pachy derms (figure 786), chiefly remarkable on account of its enormous tusks, which projected downwards from the lower jaw, instead of the upper, as in the elephant and walrus. " Deiopeia, (de-i-ope'ya.) (Myth.) The most beautiful of Fig . 786. - DEINOTHERIUM. the 14 nymphs that attended upon Juno, who promised her in marriage to Æolus, the god of the winds, if he would destroy the fleet of Æneas, which was sailing for Italy. ( Zool .) A genus of beautiful lepidoptera, of the Bom bycida family. The fore-wings are deep yellow, cro ed by about 6 white bands, each bearing a row of black dots; hind wings scarlet, with an irregular black border. Deir, ( dair ,) the name of many places in the East, the principal being 10 miles from Beyrout, in Syria. It is the chief town of the Druses, whose emir lives in its citadel. Deism, (de'izm,) n. [Fr. déis me.] ( Theol .) Belief in the existence and attributes of God, coupled with disbelief in any expre revelation of his will. See THEISM. De'ist, n. [Fr. déiste , from Lat. deus , a god.] ( Theol . ) One who profe es deism; a freethinker. Deis'tic, Deis'tical, a . Pertaining to deism, or to a deist; embracing deism; as, a deistical thinker. Deis'tically, adv . After the manner of deists. De'ity, n. [Fr. déité ; L. Lat. deitas , from deus , a god; Gr. theos ; Lith. diewas ; Sansk. dew a , from div , to shine. See DIVINE.] The source of light, both natural and spiritual; the divine nature; the godhead; the nature and e ence of the Supreme Being; the Supreme Being. "An atheist's laugh's a poor exchange For Deity offended!" -Burns . -A fabulous god or godde ; a superior being. "Will you suffer a temple of your deity to be razed?" - Sidney. Dejanira, ( deja - ni - ra ,) a daughter of Eneus, king of Etolia. Her father promised to give her in marriage to him only who proved to be the strongest of all his competitors. Hercules obtained the prize, and married D. , by whom he had three children. When Ne us, a centaur, who had offered violence to D. , was dying by a poisoned arrow shot from the bow of Hercules, she accepted from him the present of his tunic, which Ne us said had the power of reclaiming a husband from unlawful loves. Accordingly, when Hercules became enamoured of Iola, daughter of the king of Echalia, she sent him the centaur's tunic, which instantly caused his death. D. was so disconsolate at this event, that she destroyed herself. - See HERCULES.