Chinese temple architecture also "wu" and "tongji" shamans, may perform services within these temples. Shenist temples are usually small and decorated with traditional figures on their roofs (dragons and deities), although some evolve into significant structures. Chinese temples can be found throughout Mainland China, Taiwan and also where Chinese expatriate communities settled over centuries. An old name in English for Chinese traditional temples is "joss house". "Joss" is an Anglicized spelling of the Portuguese word for "god", "deus". "Joss house" was in common use in English in western North America during frontier times, when joss houses were a common feature of Chinatowns. The
Deus Deus Deus () is Latin for "god" or "deity". Latin "deus" and "dīvus" "divine", are descended from Proto-Indo-European *"deiwos", "celestial" or "shining", from the same root as "*Dyēus", the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. In Classical Latin, "deus" (feminine "dea") was a general noun referring to a deity, while in technical usage a "divus" or "diva" was a figure who had become divine, such as a divinized emperor. In Late Latin, "Deus" came to be used mostly for the Christian God. It was inherited by the Romance languages in French "Dieu", Spanish "Dios", Portuguese and Galician "Deus", Italian