[f. Gr. ἀ priv. + Skr. dēva god + -ISM.] A term introduced by Prof. Max Müller, to express a disbelief in the legendary deity or deities, as distinguished from atheism or disbelief in a God.
1878. Max Müller, Hibbert Lect., 303. Their atheism will more correctly be called Adevism, or a denial of the old Devas.
