euhemerize

English

Alternative forms

• euhemerise (UK)

Etymology

From euhemerism +‎ -ize, ultimately from Latin Euhēmerus, from Ancient Greek Εὐήμερος (Euḗmeros), an ancient Greek Sicilian Skeptic who proposed most or all mythology derived from historical figures and natural events which received supernatural characteristics only through retelling.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /juˌhiməˈɹaɪz/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /juːˌhiːməˈɹaɪz/

Verb

euhemerize (third-person singular simple present euhemerizes, present participle euhemerizing, simple past and past participle euhemerized)

1. (transitive, intransitive, derogatory) To invent a plausible but fanciful historical origin for something in order to explain away mythology and legends.

   Confucian scholars frequently euhemerized the myths used to explain religious rituals to the public.

   • 1871, Frederic William Farrar, The Witness of History to Christ, page 57:

     He did but extend to the New Testament the Euhemerising principles which Eichhorn had applied to the Old.

   • 1887 September 3, I. Taylor, The Academy, page 143:

     The legend of Semiramis was a euhemerised version of the story of Istar.

2. (transitive, intransitive) Synonym of deify: to actually create mythology and legends from ancient historical figures and events.

   The Yellow Emperor was perhaps euhemerized from a prehistoric tribal leader.

Usage notes

In general, the nonpejorative sense of euhemerize is restricted to discussion of Chinese mythology, where it is applied to the religious veneration of figures from remote prehistory and used to distinguish this from the deification of known historical figures such as Guan Yu and Huang Daopo. As an intransitive verb, typically used with into and out of.

Synonyms

• (fanciful creation of rational explanations for the supernatural): See rationalize

Derived terms

• euhemerization

Translations

to explain or interpret something through euhemerism

• French: évhémériser (fr)
• Portuguese: evemerizar

References

• “Euhemerism, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2022.
• "euhemerism" in Prof. D.K. Jordan's "Mini-Glossaries" (27 Jan. 2011)