momentary god

noun

A specific phenomenon, such as a lightning bolt, interpreted and experienced as a deity.

OriginGerman Augenblicksgott →
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Meanings

nounmomentary god (plural momentary gods)

plural momentary gods

  1. A specific phenomenon, such as a lightning bolt, interpreted and experienced as a deity.

    Concentrating his attention on the conception of lightning, Usener discovers a transition in the way lightning is conceived: initially experienced as an exclamation in response to a "momentary god"—Zeus originally meant "he who thunders"—[…]

    2018 August 6, Karen Lang, Chaos and Cosmos: On the Image in Aesthetics and Art History, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 96

Origin

  1. GermanAugenblicksgott
  2. Englishmomentary god

Calque of German Augenblicksgott, coined by Hermann Usener in his Götternamen in 1896.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

momentary god. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/momentary%20god

MLA

“momentary god.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/momentary%20god. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “momentary god,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/momentary%20god.

Source: momentary god on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.