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.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡɒd/, /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/
• enPR: gŏd
• 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. Alternative letter-case form of God.
3. An idol.

   Leo Messi is my god!

   1. A representation of a deity, especially a statue or statuette.
   2. Something or someone particularly revered, worshipped, idealized, admired and/or followed.
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Philippians 3:19:

        whose god is their belly

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

   He is the god of soccer!

5. (figurative) A person in a high position of authority, importance or influence.
6. (figurative) A powerful ruler or tyrant.
7. (colloquial) 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.

8. (Internet, role-playing 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. (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.

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 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.

• 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

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

• afgod
• berggod
• God
• godbevinding
• godenbeeld
• godenbrood
• godendienst
• godendochter
• godendom
• godendrank
• godenkind
• godenleer
• godenspijs
• godenzoon
• godgeleerdheid
• godgezang
• godheid
• godin
• godsakker
• godschalk
• godsdienst
• godsgebied
• godsgeheim
• godshuis
• godskind
• godslastering
• godsloochening
• godsnaam
• godvormig
• gut
• krijgsgod
• minnegod
• ongodisme
• vruchtbaarheidsgod

• 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.

• godfader
• godmoder
• godsone

• English: God
• Scots: God
• Yola: Gud

• god in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• “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 -gó’, 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

• “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
  • Scots: guid
  • Yola: gooude, gude, gayde

gōd n

1. good (something good or good things collectively)

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

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, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.

gōd

1. good

• North Frisian:

  Föhr-Amrum: gud

• Saterland Frisian: goud
• West Frisian: goed

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

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

• “god”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

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 (not evil), kind
2. good (in taste)

   Är maten god?

   Is the food good?

3. (somewhat dated) good (not bad), fine, useful

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

• 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