göttlicher

Göttlicher is the attributive form of the German adjective göttlich, meaning divine or god-like. It describes beings, powers, or qualities associated with a deity or regarded as exceptionally excellent. In everyday use, it can convey reverence in religious contexts or hyperbolic praise in secular speech, as in descriptions of sublime experiences or exceptional taste.

Origin and form: göttlich comes from Gott (God) plus the suffix -lich (like, related). In German, attributive adjectives are declined to reflect gender, number, and case, so göttlicher is the masculine nominative singular form (e.g., ein göttlicher Funke). Other forms include göttliche (feminine singular or plural), göttliches (neuter singular), and various case-inflected endings such as göttlichen. Predicative use typically employs göttlich rather than göttlicher, as in Er ist göttlich.

Common usage and phrases: göttlicher Funke (divine spark), göttliche Kräfte (divine powers), göttliche Gnade (divine grace). The abstract noun Das Göttliche, capitalized, may refer to the concept of the Divine as such. Die Göttliche Komödie is the German title of Dante’s Divine Comedy. In colloquial speech, göttlich can also intensify praise, e.g., Das Essen war göttlich, meaning it was extraordinarily good.

Notes: While göttlicher is primarily an attributive form, its exact ending changes with the article and case. The term remains closely tied to religious language but also appears in literary, philosophical, and cultural contexts to express purity, exaltation, or exceptional quality.