天主

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	to own; to host; master to own; to host; master; lord; primary
simp. and trad. (天主)		天	主

Etymology

First attested in True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (《天主實錄》), completed by Italian Jesuit priest and missionary Michele Ruggieri in 1584 (Wang, 2012), as a semantic readaptation of Chinese 天主 (Tiānzhǔ, “heavenly emperor; heavenly God”).

Note 天主(てんしゅ) (Tenshu) is earliest attested in Japanese no later than 1581. The coinage of 天主 (Tiānzhǔ, “God”) in Chinese and Japanese around the same time may or may not be coincidental.

Proper noun

天主

1. (chiefly Catholicism) the Lord of Heaven; God

   • 在起初天主創造了天地。 [MSC, trad.]
     在起初天主创造了天地。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: (deprecated template usage) 思高聖經 (Studium Biblicum Version), 創世紀 (Genesis) 1:1

     Zài qǐchū Tiānzhǔ chuàngzào le tiāndì. [Pinyin]

     In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.

   • 又信惟一主——伊伊穌斯合鿠斯托斯——爲天主之獨一子。 [MSC, trad.]
     又信惟一主——伊伊稣斯合鿟斯托斯——为天主之独一子。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1863, 《東敎宗鑑》

     Yòu xìn wéiyī zhǔ — Yīyīsūsī Hélìsītuōsī — wèi Tiānzhǔ zhī dúyī zǐ. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

Terms for God in different branches of Christianity

Branch	Words edit
Protestant	上帝, 神, 真神
Roman Catholic	天主, 僚氏 Hokkien, historical
Eastern Orthodox	上帝

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (天主):

• → Japanese: 天主(てんしゅ) (tenshu)
• → Korean: 천주(天主) (cheonju)
• → Vietnamese: Thiên Chúa (天主)

Others:

• → Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ
  ᡝᠵᡝᠨ (abkai ejen) (calque)

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	主
てん Grade: 1	しゅ Grade: 3
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 天主 (then tsyu^X)

Proper noun

天(てん)主(しゅ) • (Tenshu) 

1. (Christianity) the Lord of Heaven

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Korean

Hanja in this term
天	主

Proper noun

天主 • (Cheonju) (hangeul 천주)

1. hanja form^? of 천주 (“the Lord of Heaven; God”)

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Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
天	主

Proper noun

天主

1. chữ Hán form of Thiên Chúa (“God, the Lord of Heaven”).