[W/K] :: demigod

  Demigod \Dem"i*god\, n.
     A half god, or an inferior deity; a fabulous hero, the
     offspring of a deity and a mortal.
     [1913 Webster]

  demigod
       n 1: a person with great powers and abilities [syn: superman, Ubermensch]
       2: a person who is part mortal and part god [syn: daemon]

  33 Moby Thesaurus words for "demigod":
     Achilles, David, Hector, Roland, Samson, a man, brave, bulldog,
     chutzpanik, decorated hero, demigoddess, fighting cock, gallant,
     gamecock, god, goddess, godkin, godlet, godling, good soldier,
     hero, heroine, idol, lion, man of courage, paladin, phoenix,
     stalwart, superhuman, the brave, tiger, valiant, valiant knight
  
  

  demigod n. A hacker with years of experience, a world-wide reputation,
     and a major role in the development of at least one design, tool, or
     game used by or known to more than half of the hacker community. To
     qualify as a genuine demigod, the person must recognizably identify with
     the hacker community and have helped shape it. Major demigods include
     Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie (co-inventors of {Unix and C),
     Richard M. Stallman (inventor of EMACS), Larry Wall (inventor of
     Perl), Linus Torvalds (inventor of Linux), and most recently James
     Gosling (inventor of Java, NeWS, and GOSMACS) and Guido van Rossum
     (inventor of Python). In their hearts of hearts, most hackers dream of
     someday becoming demigods themselves, and more than one major software
     project has been driven to completion by the author's veiled hopes of
     apotheosis. See also net.god, true-hacker.
  
  

  demigod
       
           A hacker with years of experience, a national
          reputation, and a major role in the development of at least
          one design, tool, or game used by or known to more than half
          of the hacker community.  To qualify as a genuine demigod, the
          person must recognisably identify with the hacker community
          and have helped shape it.  Major demigods include Ken
          Thompson and Dennis Ritchie (co-inventors of Unix and
          C) and Richard Stallman (inventor of Emacs).  In their
          hearts of hearts, most hackers dream of someday becoming
          demigods themselves, and more than one major software project
          has been driven to completion by the author's veiled hopes of
          apotheosis.
       
          See also net.god, true-hacker.
       
          [{Jargon File]
       
          (1994-10-27)