APOTHE'OSIS, noun [Gr. of God.] Deification; consecration; the act of placing a prince or other distinguished person among the heathen deities. This honor was often bestowed on illustrious men in Rome, and followed by the erection of temples, and the institution of sacrifices to the new deity.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI