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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

a·poth·e·o·sis

Audio Help [uh-poth-ee-oh-sis, ap-uh-thee-uh-sis] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -ses

Audio Help [-seez, -seez] Pronunciation Key.

1.	the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.

2.	the ideal example; epitome; quintessence: This poem is the apotheosis of lyric expression.

[Origin: 1570–80; < LL < Gk. See apo-, theo-, -osis

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
apotheosis

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

a·poth·e·o·sis Audio Help (ə-pŏth'ē-ō'sĭs, āp'ə-thē'ə-sĭs) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. a·poth·e·o·ses (-sēz')

Exaltation to divine rank or stature; deification.
Elevation to a preeminent or transcendent position; glorification: "Many observers have tried to attribute Warhol's current apotheosis to the subversive power of artistic vision" (Michiko Kakutani).
An exalted or glorified example: Their leader was the apotheosis of courage.

[Late Latin apotheōsis, from Greek, from apotheoun, to deify : apo-, change; see apo- + theos, god; see dhēs- in Indo-European roots.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
apotheosis

1605, from L.L. apotheosis, from Gk. apotheosis, from apotheoun "deify, make (someone) a god," from apo- special use of this prefix, meaning, here, "change" + theos "god."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

apotheosis
noun
1.	model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal [syn: ideal]
2.	the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god) [syn: deification]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Apotheosis

Ap`o*the"o*sis\ (?; 277), n. pl. Apotheoses. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to deify; ? from + ? to deify, ? a god.]

1. The act of elevating a mortal to the rank of, and placing him among, "the gods;" deification.

2. Glorification; exaltation. "The apotheosis of chivalry." --Prescott. "The noisy apotheosis of liberty and machinery." --F. Harrison.

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