God (word)

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File:Detail of Codex Argenteus.jpg
Earliest attestation of the Germanic word in the 6th-century Script error: No such module "Lang". (Mt 5:34)

Template:God The English word god comes from the Old English Script error: No such module "Lang"., which itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic Script error: No such module "Lang".. Its cognates in other Germanic languages include Script error: No such module "Lang". (both Gothic), Script error: No such module "Lang". (Old Norse), Script error: No such module "Lang". (Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch), and Script error: No such module "Lang". (Old High German).

Etymology

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The Proto-Germanic meaning of Script error: No such module "Lang". and its etymology is uncertain. It is generally agreed that it derives from a Proto-Indo-European neuter passive perfect participle *ǵʰu-tó-m.[1]Template:Rp 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 Watkins[2] opines in the light of Greek Script error: No such module "Lang". "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 Script error: No such module "lang".) or "that which is invoked."

The term "Godan" was the name used for Wodan ( Odin ) amongst the pre-Christian Lombards[3] which actually comes from Proto-Germanic Script error: No such module "Lang".. 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.[4] 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.[4]

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.[5] One instance is the wild hunt (a.k.a. Wodan's wild hunt) where Wod is used.[6][7]

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.

Influence of Christianity

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."[8]Template:Rp 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.[8]Template:Rp

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.[8]Template:Rp[9]

Translations

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 Script error: No such module "Lang"., see *dyēus.

Greek "θεός " (Script error: No such module "Lang".) means god in English. It is often connected with Greek "θέω" (theō), "run",[10][11] and "θεωρέω" (theoreō), "to look at, to see, to observe",[12][13] Latin Script error: No such module "Lang". "holidays", Script error: No such module "Lang". "temple", and also Armenian Script error: No such module "Lang". "gods". Alternative suggestions (e.g. by De Saussure) connect *dhu̯es- "smoke, spirit", attested in Baltic and Germanic words for "spook" and ultimately cognate with Latin Script error: No such module "Lang". "smoke." The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek te-o[14] (plural te-o-i[15]), written in Linear B syllabic script.

Capitalization

File:KJV Psalm 23 1 2.jpg
KJV of 1611 (Psalms 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 Script error: No such module "lang"., Persian Khuda, Indic Ishvara and the Maasai Script error: No such module "Lang"..

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.[16][17]

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.[18][19]

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Watkins, Calvert, ed., The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000.
  3. ↑ Paul the Deacon (2003). Peters, Edward (ed.). History of the Lombards. Translated by Foulke, William Dudley. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Template:ISBN.
  4. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ A New System of Geography, Or a General Description of the World by Daniel Fenning, Joseph Collyer 1765
  6. ↑ See the chant in the Medieval and Early Modern folklore section of the Wikipedia entry for Wōden.
  7. ↑ 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
  8. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "template wrapper". Template:OEDsub
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ θεωρέω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  13. ↑ Dermot Moran, The Philosophy of John Scottus Eriugena: A Study of Idealism in the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press
  14. ↑ Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
  15. ↑ Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
  16. ↑ 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"
  17. ↑ 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."
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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Template:Names of God

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