god

See also: God, gód, Gód, göd, gød, goð, góð, and goɗ

English

Indra on his mount Airavata.
A statue depicting Zeus, a Greek god.

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English god, from Old English god (deity), originally neuter, then changed to masculine to reflect the change in religion to Christianity, from Proto-Germanic *gudą n, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós (invoked (one)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewH- (to call, to invoke) or *ǵʰew- (to pour). Not related to the word good.

Pronunciation

Noun

god (plural gods)

  1. A deity or supreme being; a supernatural, typically immortal, being with superior powers.
    The most frequently used name for the Islamic god is Allah.
    • 2002, Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby:
      When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love.
  2. Alternative letter-case form of God.
  3. An idol.
    1. A representation of a deity, especially a statue or statuette.
    2. Something or someone particularly revered, worshipped, idealized, admired and/or followed.
      • Bible, Phil. iii. 19
        whose god is their belly
  4. (figuratively) A person in a high position of authority, importance or influence.
  5. (figuratively) A powerful ruler or tyrant.
  6. (colloquial) An exceedingly handsome man.
    Lounging on the beach were several Greek gods.
    • Wilfred Owen, Disabled (poem)
      Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts.
  7. (Internet) The person who owns and runs a multi-user dungeon.
    • 1996, Andy Eddy, Internet after hours
      The gods usually have several wizards, or "immortals," to assist them in building the MUD.
    • 2003, David Lojek, Emote to the Max (page 11)
      The wizzes are only the junior grade of the MUD illuminati. The people who attain the senior grade of MUD freemasonry by starting their own MUD, with all due hubris, are known as gods.

Usage notes

The word god is often applied both to males and to females. The word was originally neuter in Proto-Germanic; monotheistic – notably Judeo-Christian – usage completely shifted the gender to masculine, necessitating the development of a feminine form, goddess.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

See god/translations § Noun.

Proper noun

god

  1. (very rare) Alternative form of God
    • 1530, William Tyndall, An aunſwere vnto Syr Thomas Mores Dialogue in The whole workes of W. Tyndall, Iohn Frith, and Doct. Barnes, three worthy Martyrs, and principall teachers of this Churche of England, collected and compiled in one Tome togither, beyng before ſcattered, & now in Print here exhibited to the Church (1573), page 271/2:
      And ſuch is to beare yͤ names of god with croſſes betwene ech name about them.
    • 1900, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, "The Happy Man" in The Wild Knight and Other Poems:
      Golgotha's ghastly trinity—
      Three persons and one god.

Verb

god (third-person singular simple present gods, present participle godding, simple past and past participle godded)

  1. To idolize.
    • 1608, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Coriolanus, Act V Scene III:
      CORIOLANUS: This last old man, / Whom with a crack'd heart I have sent to Rome, / Loved me above the measure of a father; / Nay, godded me, indeed.
    • a. 1866, Edward Bulwer Lytton, "Death and Sisyphus".
      To men the first necessity is gods; / And if the gods were not, / " Man would invent them, tho' they godded stones.
    • 2001, Conrad C. Fink, Sportswriting: The Lively Game, page 78
      "Godded him up" ... It's the fear of discerning journalists: Does coverage of athletic stars, on field and off, approach beatification of the living?
  2. To deify.
    • 1595, Edmund Spenser, Colin Clouts Come Home Againe.
      Then got he bow and fhafts of gold and lead, / In which fo fell and puiflant he grew, / That Jove himfelfe his powre began to dread, / And, taking up to heaven, him godded new.
    • 1951, Eric Voegelin, Dante Germino ed., The New Science of Politics: An Introduction (1987), page 125
      The superman marks the end of a road on which we find such figures as the "godded man" of English Reformation mystics
    • 1956, C. S. Lewis, Fritz Eichenberg, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold, page 241
      "She is so lately godded that she is still a rather poor goddess, Stranger.

Translations

See also

References

  • Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

Anagrams


Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish gōþær, gothær, from Old Norse góðr (good), from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (to join, to unite).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡoð/, [ɡ̊oðˀ], [ɡ̊oːˀð], [ɡ̊oːˀ]
  • Rhymes: -oð

Adjective

god (neuter godt, plural and definite singular attributive gode, comparative bedre, superlative (predicative) bedst, superlative (attributive) bedste)

  1. good

References


Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch god, from Old Dutch got, from Proto-Germanic *gudą, from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós (invoked (one)). Compare English and West Frisian god, German Gott, Danish gud.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɣɔt/
  • Rhymes: -ɔt
  • (Belgium) IPA(key): [ʝɔt]
  • (Netherlands) IPA(key): [xɔt]

Noun

god m (plural goden, diminutive godje n, feminine godin)

  1. god, deity

Derived terms


Gothic

Romanization

gōd

  1. Romanization of 𐌲𐍉𐌳

Low German

Alternative forms

  • good, goot, got
  • (in other dialects) gaud (comparative bäter, beter)
  • (in other dialects) gut (comparative bȩter)
  • (in other dialects) gud (comparative biäter), gutt (inflected gudd-)

Etymology

From Middle Low German gôt, from Old Saxon gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡoʊt/, /ɣɔʊt/, /ɣoʊt/

Adjective

god

  1. (in some dialects) good (alternative spelling of goot)

Usage notes

  • The comparative is bäter and the superlative is best.

Lower Sorbian

Noun

god

  1. Superseded spelling of gód.

Middle Dutch

Noun

god m

  1. Alternative spelling of got

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English god, from Proto-Germanic *gudą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɔd/

Noun

god (plural goddes, genitive goddes)

  1. A god or deity; a divine individual.
  2. A person worshipped as a divinity.
Descendants
References

Proper noun

god (genitive goddes, uncountable)

  1. God (the deity of Abrahamic religions, especially the Christian God, considered to be Jesus Christ)
    • a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Apocalips 4:5”, in Wycliffe's Bible:
      And leitis, and voices, and thundringis camen out of the trone; and ſeuene laumpis brennynge bifore the trone, whiche ben the ſeuene ſpiritis of God.
      And lightning, sounds, and thunder came out of the throne, and seven lamps were burning in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
Descendants
References

Etymology 2

From Old English gōd (good).

Adjective

god

  1. Alternative form of good

Middle Low German

Adjective

god

  1. Alternative spelling of gôt.

Noun

god

  1. Alternative spelling of got.
  2. Alternative spelling of gôt.

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *-ɢᴜ̓t’.

Cognates:

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [kòt], [kɣʷòt]

Noun

-god (inalienable)

  1. knee

Derived terms

  • agod (someone’s knee)
  • hagod (one’s knee)
  • bigod (his/her/their knee)
  • shigod (my knee)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse góðr, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (to join, to unite).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡuː/, [ɡuʷː]

Adjective

god (neuter singular godt, definite singular and plural gode, comparative bedre, indefinite superlative best, definite superlative beste)

  1. good

Derived terms

References


Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse góðr, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (to join, to unite). Akin to English good.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡuː/

Adjective

god (masculine and feminine god, neuter godt, definite singular and plural gode, comparative betre, indefinite superlative best, definite superlative beste)

  1. good

Derived terms

References


Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *gudą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós (invoked; poured, libated), from an original root *ǵʰewH- (call, invoke) or *ǵʰew- (pour). Germanic cognates include Old Frisian god, Old Saxon god (Low German gad), Dutch god, Old High German got (German Gott), Old Norse goð, guð (Danish and Swedish gud), Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐌸 (guþ). The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek καυχάομαι (kaukháomai, I extol, boast), Old Irish guth (voice), Old Church Slavonic зъвати (zŭvati) (Russian звать (zvatʹ, call)).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡod/

Noun

god n (nominative plural godu)

  1. god
Declension

Noun

god m

  1. God, the Christian god
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Middle English: god

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-, *gʰadʰ- (to gather, align, match). Cognate with Old Frisian gōd, Old Saxon gōd, Dutch goed, Old High German guot (German gut), Old Norse góðr (Swedish god), Gothic 𐌲𐍉𐌸𐍃 (gōþs).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡoːd/

Adjective

gōd (comparative betera, superlative betst)

  1. good, appropriate, pleasing
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants

Noun

gōd n

  1. good; goodness, benefit, well-being
Declension

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

Adjective

gōd

  1. good
Inflection

Descendants

  • North Frisian:
    Föhr-Amrum: gud
  • West Frisian: goed

Old Saxon

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (to join, to unite). Compare Old English and West Frisian gōd, Old High German and Old Dutch guot, Old Norse góðr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɣoːd/

Adjective

gōd (comparative betiro, superlative betst)

  1. good
    • Heliand, verse 363
      Davides thes gōdon
      David the Good
Declension


Descendants
  • Middle Low German: gôt
    • German Low German: goot

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɣoːd/

Noun

gōd n

  1. goodness, benefit
    • Heliand, verse 1456
      dōt im gōdes filu
      They gave to them loads of goods
Declension


Descendants
  • Middle Low German: gôt
    • German Low German: Goot

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *gudą, from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós (invoked (one)). Compare Old English god, Old Frisian god, Old High German got, Old Norse guð.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɣɔd/

Noun

god n

  1. god
    • Heliand, verse 326
      godes ēgan barn
      God's own child
Declension


Descendants
  • Middle Low German: got

Etymology 4

From Proto-Germanic *gudą.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɣɔd/

Noun

god m

  1. God, the Christian god
    • Heliand, verse 11
      thia habdon maht godes helpa fan himila
      They had the power by the help of God in the heavens
Declension


Descendants
  • Middle Low German: got

Romansch

Alternative forms

Etymology

Of probable Germanic origin (compare German Wald, Dutch woud, English wold).

Noun

god m (plural gods)

  1. (Puter, Vallader) forest

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *godъ. Cognate with Slovene god, Old Church Slavonic годъ (godŭ), Russian год (god).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡôːd/

Noun

gȏd m (Cyrillic spelling го̑д)

  1. name day
  2. anniversary, holiday
  3. ring (on a tree)

Declension

Particle

god (Cyrillic spelling год)

  1. generalization particle
    (t)ko godwhoever
    što godwhatever
    gdje godwherever
    koji godwhichever
    Uzmi koji god hoćeš!Take whichever you want!
    kad godwhenever
    čiji godwhoever's
    kako godin whichever way
    kakav godof whatever kind
    koliki godof whichever size
    koliko godno matter how much/many

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *godъ. Cognate with Serbo-Croatian god, Old Church Slavonic годъ (godŭ).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡóːt/
  • Tonal orthography: gọ̑d

Noun

gód m inan (genitive godú or góda, nominative plural godôvi)

  1. name day

Declension


Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish gōþer, from Old Norse góðr, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (to join, to unite).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡuːd/
  • (file)

Adjective

god (comparative godare, superlative godast)

  1. good (not evil), kind
  2. good (tasting)

Declension

Inflection of god
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular god godare godast
Neuter singular gott godare godast
Plural goda godare godast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 gode godare godaste
All goda godare godaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.

Antonyms

Adjective

god (comparative bättre, superlative bäst)

  1. good (not bad), fine, useful

Declension

Inflection of god
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular god bättre bäst
Neuter singular gott bättre bäst
Plural goda bättre bäst
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 goda bättre bäste
All gode bättre bästa
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.

Antonyms

Derived terms


West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian god, from Proto-Germanic *gudą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós.

Noun

god c (plural goaden, diminutive godsje)

  1. god, deity

Further reading

  • God”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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