Amaterasu-ōmikami means "the great august kami (deity) who shines in the heaven." Why is it specifically august? What does the goddess name meaning august mean?
asked May 1, 2018 at 15:50
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1 Answer
- Re: Why "august"
It's a function of translation into European languages. It comes from the Latin usage: augustus and was a title employed initially by Octavian, who was deified after his death.
I'm not finding anything on Amaterasu referencing mortal beginnings, so we can probably discard the Roman association with deified rulers, and focus on the literal meanings of the term "consecrated, sacred, reverend, venerable, majestic, magnificent, etc."
See also: august (OED, def.1)
