god

The Vedic god Indra (sense 1) on his mount Airavata.

A statue depicting Zeus, a Greek god (sense 1).

A Neopagan altar in Björkö, Sweden; the larger wooden figure represents the Norse god Frey (sense 1).

From Middle English god, from Old English god, originally neuter, then changed to masculine to reflect the change in religion to Christianity, from Proto-West Germanic *god n, from Proto-Germanic *gudą, from *ǵʰutóm, neuter/inanimate of 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 or Persian خدا (xodâ, “god”).

Cognates include Russian звать (zvatʹ, “to call”), Sanskrit होत्र (hotra, “calling, oblation, sacrifice”) and Latin fūtilis (“easily pours out, leaky”) (whence English futile). Doublet of futile.

• enPR: gŏd
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡɒd/, (archaic) /ɡɔːd/
  • (General American, Ireland) IPA^(key): /ɡɑd/

  • Audio (GA)

    (file)

  • (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ɡɔd/, /ɡɔːd/
  • (Canada, Wales) IPA^(key): /ɡɒːd/
  • (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ɡɔd/
• Homophone: gaud (in accents with the cot-caught merger)
• Rhymes: -ɒd

god (plural gods)

1. A deity or supreme being; a supernatural, typically immortal, being with superior powers, to which personhood is attributed.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:god

   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. An idol.
   1. A representation of a deity, especially a statue or statuette.
   2. (figurative) Something or someone particularly revered, worshipped, idealized, admired and/or followed.

      Leo Messi is my god!

      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Philippians 3:19:

        whose god is their belly

3. (figurative) A person in a very high position of authority, importance or influence; a powerful ruler or tyrant.
   • 1959, Percy E. Corbett, Law in Diplomacy, page 105:

     In 1951 Stalin was a god and the official tone towards the West was one of total antagonism.

4. (figurative, informal) A person who is exceptionally skilled in a particular activity.

   He is the god of soccer!

5. (figurative, informal) An exceedingly handsome man.

   Lounging on the beach were several Greek gods.

   • a. 1918, Wilfred Owen, Disabled:

     Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts.

6. (Internet, roleplaying games) 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.

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. (In Old English the feminine gyden, as well as a more explicitly marked masculine goda, existed.)

• gawd, Gawd, God

• Sranan Tongo: gado

god

1. (often derogatory, also philosophy) Alternative letter-case form of God
   • 1530, William Tyndall, “An aunſwere vnto Syr Thomas Mores Dialogue”, in The whole workes of W. Tyndall […], published 1573, page 271:

     And ſuch is to beare yͤ names of god with croſſes betwene ech name about them.

   • 2005, Diane L. Gabriel, Angel of My Heart, →ISBN, page 46:

     “I say fuck it. Fuck god and fuck all the religions that praise him.”

   • 2010 [6th century], Boethius, translated by Andrew Smith, On Aristotle, On Interpretation 1–3, page 136:

     For if the necessity of events is bound up with god’s knowledge, if there is no necessity in events, the divine knowledge is abolished. And whose mind is so distorted by such an impious idea that he would dare to say this of god?

   • 2012, Penn Jillette, God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales, →ISBN, page 77:

     If I ask you if you believe in god, I just want to know if you have an imaginary omnipotent friend who you really believe lives outside of you in the real world.

   • 2016, Andrew Sneddon, A is for Atheist: An A to Z of the Godfree Life‎, →ISBN:

     Perhaps what is needed is just the right attitude: one’s heart should be open to god in order to hear his messages. […] It does not matter: such claims only prove my point about the communicative shortcomings of so-called divine signs.

   • 2017, Myrto Hatzimichali, “Stoicism and Platonism in ‘Arius Didymus’”, in Troels Engberg-Pedersen, editor, From Stoicism to Platonism: The Development of Philosophy, 100 BCE–100 CE, →ISBN, page 91:

     This is the formulation of the moral end as ‘assimilation to god’, which would become standard in later Platonism.

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

1. (transitive) 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. (transitive) To deify.
   • 1595, Edmund Spenser, Colin Clouts Come Home Againe:

     Then got he bow and shafts of gold and lead, / In which so fell and puissant he grew, / That Jove himselfe 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, published 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.["]

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
• Bosworth, Toller, "An Anglo Saxon Dictionary": http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz/017298

• god on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• god (word) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• DOG, Dog, dog

From Old Danish gōþær, gothær, from Old Norse góðr (“good”), from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz. Cognate with English good and German gut.

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡ̊oˀð], [ˈɡ̊oðˀ], [ˈɡ̊oˀ]
• Rhymes: -oð

• Audio

  (file)

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

1. good

• “god” in Den Danske Ordbog

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

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

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

1. god, deity

See also the derived terms at God.

• Negerhollands: god, got, godt

gōd

1. Romanization of 𐌲𐍉𐌳

• 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-)

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡoʊt/, /ɣɔʊt/, /ɣoʊt/

god

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

• The comparative is bäter and the superlative is best.

god

1. Superseded spelling of gód.

god m

1. Alternative spelling of got

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

• God, godd, godde

• IPA^(key): /ɡɔd/

god (plural goddes, genitive goddes)

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

• English: god
• Scots: god
• Yola: gud, Gud, God

god (genitive goddes, uncountable)

1. God (the deity of Abrahamic religions, especially the Christian God, considered to be Jesus Christ)
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎, published c. 1410, Apocalips 4:5, page 118v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     ⁊ leıtıs ⁊ voıces ⁊ þundꝛıngıs camen out of þe troone. ⁊ ſeuene lau[m]pıs bꝛe[n]nynge bıfoꝛe þe troone.· whıche ben þe ſeuene ſpırıtıs 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.

   • a. 1450, The Creation and the Fall of Lucifer in The York Plays, as recorded c. 1463–1477 in British Museum MS. Additional 35290:

     I am gracyus and grete, god withoutyn begynnyng, / I am maker vnmade, all mighte es in me, / I am lyfe and way vnto welth-wynnyng, / I am formaste and fyrste, als I byd sall it be.

     I am gracious and great, God without beginning, / I am the unmade maker—all might is in me, / I am life and the way to the attainment of salvation, / I am foremost and first—as I command, it shall be.

• godfader
• godmoder
• godsone

• English: God, od; god
  • → Pohnpeian: Koht
• Scots: God
• Yola: Gud

• “god”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “god, god, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-23.

From Old English gōd (“good”).

god

1. Alternative form of good

god

1. Alternative spelling of gôt.

god

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

From Proto-Athabaskan *-ɢᴜ̓t’.

Cognates:

• Apachean: Western Apache -god, Chiricahua -go’
• Others: Hupa -ɢot’, Mattole -goʔł, Galice -gʷay’, Chilcotin -gʷə́d, Slavey, Dogrib -gò, Chipewyan -gór, Sekani -gʷə̀de’, Beaver -gʷəd, Lower Tanana -gᴜd, Hän -gòd, Ahtna -ɢo’d, Dena'ina -ɢət’, Eyak -ɢuʰd

• IPA^(key): [kòt], [kɣʷòt]

-god (inalienable)

1. knee

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

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡuː/, [ɡɯᵝː]

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

1. good

• “god” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡuː/

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

1. good

Male given names:

From Old Norse goð.

• IPA^(key): /ɡoː/

god ?

1. god (only used in given names)

   Synonym: gud

Male given names:

Female given names:

• “god” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

• IPA^(key): /ɡoːd/

gōd (comparative betera, superlative betest, adverb wel)

1. good

• gōdnes

• Middle English: good, god, gode, goed, gude
  • English: good
    • Solombala English: гудъ (gud), гутъ (gut)
  • Scots: guid
  • Yola: gooude, gude, gayde

gōd n

1. good (something good or good things collectively)
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Ash-Wednesday"

     ...þæt is buh fram yfele and dō gōd.

     ...'Turn from evil, and do good.'

2. goods, possessions
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The First Sundayin September, when Job is read"

     ...and his suna fērdon and ðēnode ǣlc ōðrum mid his gōdum on ymhwyrfte æt his hūse...

     ...and his sons went and served each other with his goods in turn at his house...

From Proto-West Germanic *god, from Proto-Germanic *gudą. Originally neuter, then changed to masculine to reflect the change in religion to Christianity.

• IPA^(key): /ɡod/

god n or m

1. a god
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Passion of St. Julian and his wife Basilissa"

     Gehelp urum godum and hat to þe gefeccan þisne dry Iulianum þe ure goda anlicnysse mid ealle to-brytte...

     Help our gods, and command men to bring thee this sorcerer Julianus, who hath utterly broken the images of our gods,...

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint George, Martyr"

     Nāst þū lā Geori þæt ūre godas swincað mid þē and ġit hī synd ġeþyldiġe þæt hī þe miltsion. Nū lǣre ic ðē swā swā lēofne sunu þæt ðū þæra cristenra lāre forlǣte mid ealle and tō mīnum rǣde hraðe ġebūge swā þæt ðū offriġe þām ārwurðan Appoline and þū mycelne wurðmynt miht swā beġitan.

     Knowest thou not, O George, that our gods are striving with thee, and even yet they are patient, that they may pity thee; now I exhort thee, as a beloved son, that thou altogether quit the Christians' doctrine, and quickly incline to my counsel, so that thou sacrifice to the venerable Apollo, and thou mayest so obtain great honour.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Seven Sleepers"

     Nu ge þam mærum godum offrian nellað, ne beo ge me næfre heonon-forð swa wurðe ne swa leofe swa ge ær wæron...

     Since ye will not offer to the great gods, ye shall never henceforth be to me so worthy nor so dear as ye were before;...

   • c. 1021, Wulfstan, Winchester Code of Cnut, article 5.1:

     Hǣðensċipe biþ þæt man dēofolġield weorðiġe, þæt is þæt man weorðiġe hǣðenu godu and sunnan oþþe mōnan, fȳr oþþe flōd, wæterwiellas oþþe stānas oþþe ǣniġes cynnes wudutreowu, oþþe wiċċecræft lufiġe oþþe morðweorc ġefremme on ǣniġe wisan, oþþe on blōte oþþe frihte, oþþe swelcra gedwimera ǣniġ þing drēoge.

     Worshiping idols is a kind of paganism, whether one worships heathen gods and the sun or the moon, or fire or flood, or wells or stones or any kind of forest trees, or if one loves witchcraft or commits murder in any way, either by sacrifice or by divination, or takes any part in similar delusions.

neuter

masculine

• ōs

• godcund (“divine, godlike”)
• gyden (“goddess”)

god m

1. Alternative letter-case form of God.

• Middle English: god, God, godd, godde
  • English: god
  • Scots: god
  • Yola: gud, Gud, God

From Proto-West Germanic *gōd.

• (13^th CE) IPA^(key): [ɡoːd]
• Hyphenation: god

gōd

1. good

• North Frisian:

  Föhr-Amrum: gud

  Sylt: gur

• Saterland Frisian: goud
• West Frisian: goed

From Proto-West Germanic *god.

• (13^th CE) IPA^(key): [ɡod]
• Hyphenation: god

god m

1. god
2. (Christianity) God
   • c. 1485, Freeska Landriucht [The Law of the Frisian Land]‎, page 1:

     THer era godes ſynre liauer moder Maria alle des himelſche heerſchipes.

     In honour of god, his mother Mary, all the heavenly hosts.

• North Frisian:
  • Föhr-Amrum: God
• Saterland Frisian: God
• West Frisian: god, God

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 197

From Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to join, to unite”).

Compare Old English gōd, Old Frisian gōd, Old High German guot, Old Dutch guot, Old Norse góðr.

• IPA^(key): /ɣoːd/
• IPA^(key): /ɡoːd/

gōd (comparative betiro, superlative betst)

1. good
   • Heliand, verse 363

     Davides thes gōdon

     David the Good

• Middle Low German: gôt
  • German Low German: good
  • Low German: goot

From Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

• IPA^(key): /ɣoːd/
• IPA^(key): /ɡoːd/

gōd n

1. goodness, benefit
   • Heliand, verse 1456

     dōt im gōdes filu

     They gave to them loads of goods

• Middle Low German: gôt
  • German Low German: Good
  • Low German: Goot

From Proto-West Germanic *god, 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.

• IPA^(key): /ɣɔd/
• IPA^(key): /ɡoːd/

god n

1. god
   • Heliand, verse 326

     godes ēgan barn

     God's own child

• Middle Low German: got

From Proto-West Germanic *god, from Proto-Germanic *gudą.

• IPA^(key): /ɣɔd/
• IPA^(key): /ɡoːd/

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

• Middle Low German: got

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

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

god m (plural gods)

1. (Puter, Vallader) forest

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *godъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *gadás, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-. Cognate with Slovene god, Old Church Slavonic годъ (godŭ), Russian год (god).

• IPA^(key): /ɡôːd/

gȏd m (Cyrillic spelling го̑д)

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

god (Cyrillic spelling год)

1. generalization particle

   (t)ko god ― whoever

   što god ― whatever

   gdje god ― wherever

   koji god ― whichever

   Uzmi koji god hoćeš! ― 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

From Proto-Slavic *godъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *gadás, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-. Cognate with Serbo-Croatian god, Old Church Slavonic годъ (godŭ).

• IPA^(key): /ɡóːt/

gọ̑d m inan

1. name day

   Synonyms: godovni dan, godovno, imendan

2. name day celebration

   Synonym: godovanje

3. (obsolete) anniversary^[→SSKJ]

   Synonym: obletnica

• “god”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “god”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Borrowed from English god. Compare with god tier.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡod/ [ˈɡoð̞]
• Rhymes: -od
• Syllabification: god

god m or f (masculine and feminine plural godes)

1. (Internet slang) fire; cool, amazing; excellent

   Synonym: genial

   Esta película es god.

   This movie is fire.

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡuːd/, (colloquial) /ɡuː/

• audio

  (file)

god (comparative godare or bättre, superlative godast or bäst)

1. good, morally commendable

   en god människa

   a good person

   en god gärning

   a good deed

   att vilja göra gott (nominalized)

   to want to do good

   en god hustru

   a good wife (could also be considered to belong to other senses)

2. tasty, good (tasting good)

   Synonyms: välsmakande, (colloquial) go

   Är maten god?

   Is the food good? (The intuition in Swedish is closer to "tasty" than "good," as "god" is the regular word for "tasty," though both translations often work)

   Mums! Gott!

   Yum! Tasty!

   Kebabsåsen var jättegod

   The kebab sauce was really tasty / delicious

3. good (having pleasing qualities)

   goda nyheter

   good news ("bra" is less idiomatic)

   ett gott råd

   a piece of good advice ("bra" is unidiomatic)

   vara i god form

   be in good form (currently perform well – interchangeable with "bra")

4. good, proficient

   en god berättare

   a good story-teller ("bra" is less idiomatic)

   en god skytt

   a good shot (someone with good aim, etc. – "bra" is also common)

5. quite large in extent or degree, good, goodly

   Synonym: (often) bra

   vinna med god marginal

   win by a wide/good margin ("bra" is unidiomatic)

   Det är en god bit kvar att gå

   It's quite some ways left to go (interchangeable with "bra")

   Jag har god lust att anmäla dom

   I'm quite tempted to report them ("bra" is less idiomatic)

6. good (of friends and the like)

   De är goda vänner

   They are good friends (with each other – "bra" brings the intuition closer to "both of them is a good friend")

In cases where god and bra are idiomatically interchangeable, god often sounds a bit old-fashioned.

• (antonym(s) of “not evil”): elak, ond
• (antonym(s) of “tasty”): äcklig, illasmakande
• (antonym(s) of “not bad”): dålig

• go

• god in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• god in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• god in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• dog

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

god c (plural goaden, diminutive godsje)

1. god, deity

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