God (word)

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The Proto-Germanic meaning of {{lang|gem-x-proto|gudą}} and its etymology is uncertain. It is generally agreed that it derives from a Proto-Indo-European neuter passive perfect participle {{PIE|*ǵʰu-tó-m}}.{{cite book|last=Kroonen |first=Guus |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers|year=2013|isbn=978-90-04-18340-7}}{{rp|193–194}} Depending on which possibility is preferred, the pre-Christian meaning of the Germanic term may either have been (in the "pouring" case) "libation" or "that which is libated upon, idol" — or, as WatkinsWatkins, Calvert, ed., The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000. opines in the light of Greek {{lang|grc|χυτη γαια}} "poured earth" meaning "tumulus", "the Germanic form may have referred in the first instance to the spirit immanent in a burial mound" — or (in the "invoke" case) "invocation, prayer" (compare the meanings of Sanskrit {{IAST|brahman}}) or "that which is invoked."

The term "Godan" was the name used for Wodan ( Odin ) amongst the pre-Christian LombardsPaul the Deacon (2003). Peters, Edward (ed.). History of the Lombards. Translated by Foulke, William Dudley. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. {{ISBN|0812210794}}. which actually comes from Proto-Germanic {{lang|gem-x-proto|ǥuđánaz}}. Wōdanaz or Wōđinaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of a god of Germanic paganism, known as Odin in Norse mythology, Wōden in Old English, Wodan or Wotan in Old High German and Godan in the Lombardic language. Godan was shortened to God over time and was adopted/retained by the Germanic peoples of the British isles as the name of their deity, in lieu of the Latin word Deus (adaptation of Zeus) used by the Latin speaking Christian church, after conversion to Christianity.{{Cite book |last=Solomon |first=Norman |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Making_Sense_of_God/fFy9EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=W%C5%8Dden+in+Old+English,+Wodan+or+Wotan+in+Old+High+German+and+Godan+in+the+Lombardic&pg=PA24&printsec=frontcover |title=Making Sense of "God": What God-Talk Means and Does |date=2023-05-04 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-6667-6144-3 |language=en}}

During the complex christianization of the Germanic tribes of Europe, there were many linguistic influences upon the Christian missionaries. One example post downfall of the western Roman Empire are the missionaries from Rome led by Augustine of Canterbury. Augustine's mission to the Saxons in southern Britain was conducted at a time when the city of Rome was a part of a Lombardic kingdom. The translated Bibles which they brought on their mission were greatly influenced by the Germanic tribes they were in contact with, chief among them being the Lombards and Franks. The translation for the word deus of the Latin Bible was influenced by the then current usage by the tribes for their highest deity, namely Wodan by Angles, Saxons, and Franks of north-central and western Europe, and Godan by the Lombards of south-central Europe around Rome. There are many instances where the name Godan and Wodan are contracted to God and Wod.[https://books.google.com/books?id=gZFOAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA140-IA2&dq=%22becoming+afterwards+contracted+into+God%22 A New System of Geography, Or a General Description of the World by Daniel Fenning, Joseph Collyer 1765] One instance is the wild hunt (a.k.a. Wodan's wild hunt) where Wod is used.See the chant in the Medieval and Early Modern folklore section of the Wikipedia entry for Wōden.[https://books.google.com/books?id=YOlAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=wod+woden Northern Mythology, Comprising the Principal Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany and the Netherlands: Compiled from Original and Other Sources. In Three Volumes. North German and Netherlandish Popular Traditions and Superstitions, Volume 3, 1852]

The earliest uses of the word God in Germanic writing is often cited to be in the Gothic Bible or Wulfila Bible, which is the Christian Bible as translated by Ulfilas into the Gothic language spoken by the Eastern Germanic, or Gothic, tribes. The oldest parts of the Gothic Bible, contained in the Codex Argenteus, are estimated to be from the fourth century. During the fourth century, the Goths were converted to Christianity, largely through the efforts of Bishop Ulfilas, who translated the Bible into the Gothic language in Nicopolis ad Istrum in today's northern Bulgaria. The words guda and guþ were used for God in the Gothic Bible.

God entered English when the language still had a system of grammatical gender. The word and its cognates were initially neuter but underwent transition when their speakers converted to Christianity, "as a means of distinguishing the personal God of the Christians from the impersonal divine powers acknowledged by pagans."{{cite book|last=Green |first=D. H. |date=1998 |title=Language and History in the Early Germanic World |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521794237 }}{{rp|15}} However, traces of the neuter endured. While these words became syntactically masculine, so that determiners and adjectives connected to them took masculine endings, they sometimes remained morphologically neuter, which could be seen in their inflections: In the phrase, guþ meins, "my God," from the Gothic Bible, for example, guþ inflects as if it were still a neuter because it lacks a final -s, but the possessive adjective meins takes the final -s that it would with other masculine nouns.{{rp|15}}

God and its cognates likely had a general, predominantly plural or collective sense prior to conversion to Christianity. After conversion, the word was commonly used in the singular to refer to the Christian deity, and also took on characteristics of a name.{{rp|15–16}}{{cite OED |god}}

The word god was used to represent Greek theos and Latin deus in Bible translations, first in the Gothic translation of the New Testament by Ulfilas. For the etymology of {{lang|la|deus}}, see *{{PIE|dyēus}}.

Greek "θεός " ({{lang|grc-Latn|theos}}) means god in English. It is often connected with Greek "θέω" (theō), "run",{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=qeo/s|title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, θεός|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=qe/w1|title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, θέω|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}} and "θεωρέω" (theoreō), "to look at, to see, to observe",[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dqewre%2Fw θεωρέω], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on PerseusDermot Moran, The Philosophy of John Scottus Eriugena: A Study of Idealism in the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press Latin {{lang|la|feriae}} "holidays", {{lang|la|fanum}} "temple", and also Armenian {{lang|hy|di-k`}} "gods". Alternative suggestions (e.g. by De Saussure) connect {{PIE|*dhu̯es-}} "smoke, spirit", attested in Baltic and Germanic words for "spook" and ultimately cognate with Latin {{lang|la|fumus}} "smoke." The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek te-o[http://www.palaeolexicon.com/default.aspx?static=12&wid=640 Palaeolexicon], Word study tool of ancient languages (plural te-o-i[http://www.palaeolexicon.com/default.aspx?static=12&wid=556 Palaeolexicon], Word study tool of ancient languages), written in Linear B syllabic script.

File:KJV Psalm 23 1 2.jpg 23:1,2): Occurrence of "LORD" (and "God" in the heading)]]

The development of English orthography was dominated by Christian texts. Capitalized, "God" was first used to refer to the Abrahamic God and may now signify any monotheistic conception of God, including the translations of the Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|Allāh}}, Persian Khuda, Indic Ishvara and the Maasai {{lang|mas|Ngai}}.

In the English language, capitalization is used for names by which a god is known, including "God". Consequently, its capitalized form is not used for multiple gods or when referring to the generic idea of a deity.Webster's New World Dictionary; "God n. ME < OE, akin to Ger gott, Goth guth, prob. < IE base * ĝhau-, to call out to, invoke > Sans havaté, (he) calls upon; 1. any of various beings conceived of as supernatural, immortal, and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature; deity, esp. a male deity: typically considered objects of worship; 2. an image that is worshiped; idol 3. a person or thing deified or excessively honored and admired; 4. [G-] in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-knowing; Supreme Being; the Almighty"

[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/God Dictionary.com]; "God /gɒd/ noun: 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. 2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute. 3. (lowercase) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs. 4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the God of mercy. 5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. 6. (lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol. 7. (lowercase) any deified person or object. 8. (often lowercase) Gods, Theater. 8a. the upper balcony in a theater. 8b. the spectators in this part of the balcony."

Pronouns referring to a god are also often capitalized by adherents to a religion as an indication of reverence, and are traditionally in the masculine gender ("He", "Him", "His" etc) unless specifically referring to a goddess.{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XtZnWjnjahsC&q=capitalize+He+Him+reference+to+God&pg=PA1087| title = The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge|work = The New York Times| date = 25 October 2011| isbn = 9780312643027|access-date = 27 December 2011|quote=Pronoun references to a deity worshiped by people in the present are sometimes capitalized, although some writers use capitals only to prevent confusion: God helped Abraham carry out His law.}}{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p9pp8Nv05lUC&q=capitalize+He+Him+reference+to+God&pg=PA64| title = Alcoholic Thinking: language, culture, and belief in Alcoholics Anonymous

| year = 1998

|publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn = 9780275960490

|access-date = 27 December 2011|quote=Traditional biblical translations that always capitalize the word "God" and the pronouns, "He," "Him," and "His" in reference to God itself and the use of archaic forms such as "Thee," "Thou," and "Thy" are familiar.}}

• Anglo-Saxon paganism
• Bhagavan (Hindi word)
• El (deity) (Semitic word)
• Elohim
• Jumala (Finnish word)
• Tanri (Turkish word)
• Yahweh
• YHWH
• Allah

{{reflist}}

{{Wiktionary|God}}

• [http://www.wulfila.be/gothic/browse/token/?ID=T47036 Use of guþ n the Gothic Bible.]
• [http://www.wulfila.be/gothic/browse/token/?ID=T47101 Use of guda n the Gothic Bible.]
• [http://lingunetics.net/gothic.html Gothic language and its relation to other Germanic languages such as Anglish (English) and Saxon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430060459/http://www.lingunetics.net/gothic.html |date=2011-04-30 }}

{{Names of God}}

Category:English words

Category:Etymologies