Someone had asked on devas recently and I just came across an interesting gloss on the derivation of the word deva.
According to monosyllabic dictionaries which analyze components and roots of words, "deva" comes from the root "div" meaning "shining" (synonymous with the sun). The "i" in "div" represents "shakti", "d" represents "sight", and "v" means "materialized". So therefore "deva" means "materialized and visible energy". Interestingly, "div" is the opposite of "vid" (from which comes the word "veda"). If "div" is divine light, "vid", it's reflection is sight, knowledge and revelation.
