Statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture
A goddess is a female deity. While they have been, are and may be associated with as wide a range of phenomena as male deities, including war, destruction and death as well as creation, life-giving, healing and compassion, they have more commonly been associated with the Earth, fertility, motherhood and love.
The noun goddess is a secondary formation, combining the Germanic god with the Latinate -ess suffix. It is first attested on Terra in Middle English, from about 1350 CE. The Union word follows linguistic precedence set by a number of languages, including the Egyptian language, Classical Greek, Saran and several Semitic languages which simply add a feminine ending to the word for "god".