'deify' originates from Latin, specifically the Late Latin word 'deificare', where 'deus' meant 'god' and 'facere' meant 'to make'.

'deify' changed from Late Latin 'deificare' to Old French 'deifier' and Middle English forms such as 'deifien', eventually becoming the modern English word 'deify' (and thus 'deified').

Initially, it meant 'to make into a god', and over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to treat someone or something as a god; to idolize', a shift that has largely preserved the original sense.