God (English)
Where does "God" come from?
The English word 'God' traces its lineage through Old English 'god'[3] and Proto-West Germanic '*god'[3][4] to Proto-Germanic '*gudą'[2][3][4][5]. The earlier history is uncertain, but it may descend from Proto-Indo-European '*ǵʰutós?', a past participle formed from '*ǵʰew-' meaning 'to pour' or 'to call'[5][6]. In Old English, the word was originally neuter before shifting to masculine following the adoption of Christianity[3].
Open questions
- The derivation of Proto-Germanic '*gudą' from Proto-Indo-European forms involving '*ǵʰew-' or '*gʷʰew-' remains uncertain, and a non-Indo-European origin has also been proposed. [5]
Full etymology tree
- God (English), 'The first deity of various theistic religions, and the only deity in monotheism.'
- inherited God (Middle English), 'alternative form of god'
- inherited god (Old English), 'god'
- inherited *god (Proto-West Germanic), 'god, deity'
- inherited *gudą (Proto-Germanic), 'god, deity'
- inherited *god (Proto-West Germanic), 'god, deity'
- inherited god (Old English), 'god'
- inherited God (Middle English), 'alternative form of god'
Ancestors
- God (Middle English)
Descendants and derived words
- act of God (English)
- all the hours God sends (English)
- as God intended (English)
- as God is my witness (English)
- Book of God (English)
- dear God (English)
- every hour God sends (English)
- Friend of God (English)
- God be with the days (English)
- God be with you (English)
- God bless America (English)
- God committee (English)
Related words
Sources
- God (English) - Wiktionary
- god (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- god (Old English) - Wiktionary
- god (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
- gudą (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- ǵʰutós (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris