Deus magnus est is Latin for “God is great.”Deus = God · magnus = great · est = is. It is a complete Latin sentence, and it is the name of this sanctuary.
Word by word
| Latin | Meaning | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Deus | God | Noun, masculine, nominative singular — the subject of the sentence. |
| magnus | great, large, mighty | Adjective, masculine nominative singular, agreeing with Deus. |
| est | is | Verb, third person singular present of esse, “to be.” |
Read strictly in order the words are God — great — is, which English rearranges to “God is great.” Latin can afford that order because its endings, not its word positions, carry the grammar.
How to pronounce it
Ecclesiastical (Church) Latin
The pronunciation used in the liturgy and in Gregorian chant. The gn softens to “ny,” as in Agnus Dei.DEH-oos MAH-nyoos est
Classical Latin
The reconstructed pronunciation of ancient Rome, in which the g is fully sounded.DEH-oos MAHG-noos est
On this site, and anywhere chant is sung, the Ecclesiastical pronunciation is the one you want.
Where the phrase comes from
The exact sentence Deus magnus est is not a verse quoted word for word, but the words stand together in Scripture. When Solomon prepares to build the Temple, he writes:
Magnus est enim Deus noster super omnes deos.
For our God is great above all gods.
2 Paralipomenon (2 Chronicles) 2 · 5 (Vulgate)
And the same words open the Invitatory psalm, with which the Church traditionally begins each day’s Office:
Quoniam Deus magnus Dominus, et rex magnus super omnes deos.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psalm 94 · 3 (Vulgate) — Psalm 95 in most English Bibles
The Psalms return to the same confession again and again, usually with Dominus (the Lord) in place of Deus:
Magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis: et magnitudinis ejus non est finis.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of his greatness there is no end.
Psalm 144 · 3 (Vulgate) — Psalm 145 in most English Bibles
Magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis, in civitate Dei nostri, in monte sancto ejus.
Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
Psalm 47 · 2 (Vulgate) — Psalm 48 in most English Bibles
Quoniam Dominus excelsus, terribilis: rex magnus super omnem terram.
For the Lord is high, terrible: a great king over all the earth.
Psalm 46 · 3 (Vulgate) — Psalm 47 in most English Bibles
The Latin numbering differs from most English Bibles by one psalm through much of the Psalter, because the Vulgate follows the Greek Septuagint. That is why the same verse can be cited as both 47 and 48.
And the two words themselves stand in Scripture. When Daniel interprets the king’s dream, the Vulgate reads:
Deus magnus ostendit regi quæ ventura sunt postea.
The great God hath shewn the king what shall come to pass hereafter.
Daniel 2 · 45 (Vulgate)
The grammar, a little deeper
Adjective agreement. A Latin adjective must match its noun in gender, number, and case. Deus is masculine, singular, and nominative, so magnus takes the matching masculine singular nominative ending. Describe a feminine noun and it becomes magna; a neuter noun, magnum.
The verb is optional. Latin frequently drops est, leaving the two words to sit side by side: Deus magnus. The reader supplies the “is.” Adding est, as this site does, makes the statement flat and declarative — not a title, but a claim.
Order and emphasis.Deus magnus est, Deus est magnus, and Magnus est Deus all say the same thing. Latin tends to put the emphatic word first, which is why the Psalm opens Magnus Dominus — the greatness, not the name, strikes the ear first.
Degrees.Magnus (great) → maior (greater) → maximus (greatest). So “God is greatest” is Deus maximus est.
The words in English
Deus descends from an ancient root for the bright sky and the divine, and survives in English deity, deism, and deify. Magnus is even more generous: it gives us magnitude, magnify, magnificent, magnate, magnum, and magnanimous — literally “great-souled.” When Our Lady sings Magnificat anima mea Dominum, “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” she is using the same root: to magnify is to declare a greatness that was already there.
Related Latin phrases
- Magnus Dominus — “Great is the Lord.” The Psalm form, and the opening words of Psalm 47, by which it is traditionally known.
- Deus maximus — “God is greatest.”
- Soli Deo gloria — “To God alone be the glory.”
- Deo gratias — “Thanks be to God,” the response at the end of Mass.
- Magnificat anima mea Dominum — “My soul doth magnify the Lord” (Luke 1:46).
- Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth — “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts” (Isaias [Isaiah] 6).
- Deus meus et omnia — “My God and my all,” traditionally attributed to St Francis of Assisi.
Why this site bears the name
We took Deus Magnus Est as the name of this sanctuary because it is the shortest true thing that can be said, and because everything gathered here — the chant, the Latin prayers, the wonders of Scripture — exists to say it again in a different voice. The Church has been singing that sentence for more than a thousand years, in plainchant that rises and falls on a single line of melody, and it has not worn out.
If you would like to hear what the phrase sounds like when the Church sings it rather than states it, begin with the meditation on His greatness, or simply listen.
Last reviewed for accuracy on , against the Douay-Rheims Bible and the Church's own documents.