shiva means the god of destruction and transformation, and together with Brahma and Vishnu, one of the principal deities in Hinduism. Within Shaivism he is viewed as the Supreme deity, whereas in other branches of Hinduism such as the Smarta tradition he is worshipped as one of the six manifestations of the Divine. It carries an Arena rating of 1625, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, shiva ranks #432 of 17,106 for Most Storied Words, #444 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #2,095 of 17,132 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,620 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
shiva is pronounced /ˈʃiːvə/.
Why “shiva” is a great word
The god of destruction and transformation, a principal deity within the Hindu trinity, from Sanskrit *śivá* ("the auspicious one"). Unlike Vishnu, the preserver who sustains the cosmic order, or the Jewish *shivah*, a seven-day ritual of mourning, Shiva embodies the necessary, generative end from which new beginnings arise. He is the ascetic meditating on a Himalayan peak, the wild dancer within a ring of fire, and the silent dissolution of a universe back into pure potential—the terrible, generative truth that the ground must be cleared before anything new can grow.
Etymology
Borrowed from Sanskrit शिव (śivá, “the auspicious one”).
name
- The god of destruction and transformation, and together with Brahma and Vishnu, one of the principal deities in Hinduism. Within Shaivism he is viewed as the Supreme deity, whereas in other branches of Hinduism such as the Smarta tradition he is worshipped as one of the six manifestations of the Divine.e.g.“The later Bhaumas who were originally Buddhists became worshippers of Siva as is known from their inscriptions.” — 1964, Nabin Kumar Sahu, Utkal University History Of Orissa, volume 1, The Utkal University, page 7:
- A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
noun
- A weeklong period of formal mourning for a close relative.e.g.“Did you know that some parents sit shiva […] for 30 days if their child is discovered to be gay?” — 1974 February 2, “Jewish Gay Group”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 32, page 2:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- tandava 56% match — A divine dance performed by the Hindu god Shiva. vs shiva →
- saiva 55% match — A worshiper of Shiva or practicer of Shaivism. vs shiva →
- shraddha 52% match — A Hindu ceremony performed in commemoration of one's deceased relatives, especially a parent. vs shiva →
- shakti 51% match — the divine force that pervades the universe. vs shiva →
- deva 50% match — A god in Vedic mythology, Hinduism and Buddhism. vs shiva →
- shaivist 49% match — An adherent of Shaivism. vs shiva →
- sheloshim 49% match — A period of thirty days after the burial of a deceased person, during which a mourner is forbidden to do certain things, such as marrying or shaving. vs shiva →
- devi 49% match — A goddess in Vedic mythology, Hinduism and Buddhism. vs shiva →