ˈn(y)ümə̇n noun
( plural nu·mi·na -mənə)
Etymology: Latin, nod, divine will, numen; akin to Middle High German nucken to nod off, Middle Low German nucke sudden push, Latin nuere to nod, Greek neuein to nod, nyssein, nyttein to prick, sting, Sanskrit navate, nauti he moves, turns
1.
a. : a spirit believed by animists to inhabit a natural object or phenomenon
said to have set up one of the stones … and to have poured oil on the top of it as an offering to the indwelling numen — E.O.James
b. : a presiding spirit : a local deity
the numen that exercised watch and ward over the whole household — J.B.Noss
2. : a dynamic or creative force : genius
the strange and powerful numen which, he felt, used him as its tabernacle — Aldous Huxley