God Definition

god

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English god (“deity”), Old High German got (a rank of deity) originally neuter, then changed to masculine to reflect the change in religion to Christianity, both from the Proto-Germanic *gudan, from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰuto- (“invoked [one]”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewH- (“to call, to invoke”) or *ǵʰew- (“to pour”). Not related to the word good.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ɡɒd/, SAMPA: /gQd/
• (US) IPA: /ɡɑːd/, SAMPA: /gAd/
• enPR: gŏd

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒd

Noun

Wikipedia god (plural gods)

1. A deity:
   1. A supernatural, typically immortal being with superior powers.
   2. A male deity.
      • 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.

   3. A supreme being; God, typically in some particular view or aspect.
2. An idol
   1. A representation of a deity, notably a statue(tte).
   2. Something or someone particularly revered, worshipped, idealized, admired and/or followed.
3. (metaphor) A person in a high position of authority; a powerful ruler or tyrant.
4. An exceedingly handsome man.

   Lounging on the beach were several Greek 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

• (supernatural being with superior powers): deity, See also Wikisaurus:god

Derived terms

Related terms

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, w: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

• dog, DOG

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse góðr (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to join, to unite”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɡoːd/, [ɡ̊oðˀ], [ɡ̊oːˀ]

Adjective

god (neuter godt, definite and plural gode, comparative bedre, superlative bedst)

1. good

Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch got, from Proto-Germanic *gudan.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔt
• (Belgium)

  /ʝɔt/

  (file)

• (Netherlands)

  /ɣɔt/

  (file)

Noun

god m. (plural goden, diminutive godje, diminutive plural godjes)

1. god

Related terms

• godin

Gothic

Romanization

gōd

1. Romanization of 𐌲𐍉𐌳

Low German

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: ɣɔʊt, IPA: ɣoʊt

Adjective

god

1. good

Middle English

Etymology

Old English god

Noun

god (plural gods, genitive goddes)

1. god

Middle Low German

Etymology 1

From Old Saxon from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɣoʊt/

Adjective

gôd

1. good

Descendants

• Low German god

Etymology 2

From Old Saxon from Proto-Germanic *gudan.

Alternative forms

• gad (later Middle Low German)

Pronunciation

• (earlier) IPA: [ɣɔːt], IPA: [ɣɒːt] (see the A-O-merge)

• (later) IPA: /ɣɔt

Noun

gōd m. (genitive godes)

1. god

Navajo

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *-ɢᴜ̓t’.

Cognates:

• Apachean: Western Apache -god, Chiricahua -go’
• Others: Hupa -ɢot’, Mattole -goʔł, Galice -gʷay’, Chilcotin -gʷə́d, Slavey -gó’, Hare -gó’, Dogrib -gò, Dene Sųłiné -gór, Sekani -gʷə̀de’, Dunneza -gʷəd, Central Tanana -gᴜd, Hän -gòd, Ahtna -ɢo’d, Dena’ina -ɢət’, Eyak -ɢuʰd

Pronunciation

• IPA: [kòt]~[kɣʷòt]

Noun

-god (inalienable)

1. knee

Derived terms

• shigod = "my knee"
• bigod = "her/his/their knee"

Norwegian

Etymology

From Old Norse góðr.

Adjective

god (masculine god; feminine god; neuter godt; plural gode; comparative bedre; superlative best)

1. good

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *gudan, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰuto- (“invoked; poured, libated”), from an original root *ǵʰaw-, *ǵʰawH- (“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 (kaukhaomai, “I extol, boast”), Old Irish guth (“voice”), Old Church Slavonic зъвати (Russian звать (zvat’, “call”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɡod/

Noun

god n.

1. god

Declension

Noun

god m.

1. God, the Christian god

Declension

Descendants

• English: god

Etymology 2

Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *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 (goths).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɡoːd/

Adjective

gōd (comparative betera, superlative betst)

1. good, appropriate, pleasing

Declension

Descendants

• English: good
• Scots: guid

Noun

gōd n.

1. good; goodness, benefit, well-being

Declension

Old Saxon

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

Adjective

gōd

1. good

Descendants

• Middle Low German: god

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *gudan.

Noun

god m.

1. god

Descendants

• Middle Low German: gad, god

Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun) guaud
• (Sursilvan) uaul
• (Sutsilvan) gòld
• (Surmiran) gôt

Etymology

Of probable Germanic origins (compare German Wald, Dutch woud).

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: /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 god — whoever

   što god — whatever

   koji god — whichever

   Uzmi koji god hočeš.

   Take whichever you want.

   kad god — whenever

   čiji god — whoever's

   kako god — in whichever way

   kakav god — of whatever kind

   koliki god — of whichever size

   koliko god — no matter how much/many

Slovene

Etymology

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

Noun

god m.

1. name day

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse góðr, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA: /ɡuːd/

Adjective

god (comparative godare, superlative godast)

1. good (not bad), fine, useful
2. good (not evil), kind
3. good (tasting)

Declension

Derived terms

• god dag

Antonyms

• (not bad): dålig
• (not evil): elak, ond
• (tasting): äcklig, illasmakande

West Frisian

Noun

god c. (pl. goaden)

1. god, deity

Related 'God' Searches:

See Also:

• God
• Nut (Goddess)