▪ I. god
(gɒd)
Also 3–4 godd.
[Com. Teut.: OE. god (masc. in sing.; pl. godu, godo neut., godas masc.) corresponds to OFris., OS., Du. god masc., OHG. got, cot (MHG. got, mod.Ger. gott) masc., ON. goð, guð neut. and masc., pl. goð, guð neut. (later Icel. pl. guðir masc.; Sw., Da. gud), Goth. guþ (masc. in sing.; pl. guþa, guda neut.). The Goth. and ON. words always follow the neuter declension, though when used in the Christian sense they are syntactically masc. The OTeut. type is therefore *guđo{supm} neut., the adoption of the masculine concord being presumably due to the Christian use of the word. The neuter n., in its original heathen use, would answer rather to L. numen than to L. deus. Another approximate equivalent of deus in OTeut. was *ansu-z (Goth. in latinized pl. form anses, ON. ǫ́ss, OE. {Oacu}s- in personal names, ésa genit. pl.); but this seems to have been applied only to the higher deities of the native pantheon, never to foreign gods; and it never came into Christian use.
The ulterior etymology is disputed. Apart from the unlikely hypothesis of adoption from some foreign tongue, the OTeut. *guðo{supm} implies as its pre-Teut. type either *ghudho-m or *ghutó-m. The former does not appear to admit of explanation; but the latter would represent the neut. of the passive pple. of a root *gheu-. There are two Aryan roots of the required form (both *gˌheu, with palatal aspirate): one meaning ‘to invoke’ (Skr. hū), the other ‘to pour, to offer sacrifice’ (Skr. hu, Gr. χέειν, OE. ᵹéotan yete v.). Hence *gˌhutó-m has been variously interpreted as ‘what is invoked’ (cf. Skr. puru-hūta ‘much-invoked’, an epithet of Indra) and as ‘what is worshipped by sacrifice’ (cf. Skr. hutá, which occurs in the sense ‘sacrificed to’ as well as in that of ‘offered in sacrifice’). Either of these conjectures is fairly plausible, as they both yield a sense practically coincident with the most obvious definition deducible from the actual use of the word, ‘an object of worship’. Some scholars, accepting the derivation from the root *gˌheu- to pour, have supposed the etymological sense to be ‘molten image’ (= Gr. χυτόν), but the assumed development of meaning seems very unlikely.
From a desire to utter the name of God more deliberately than the short vowel naturally allows, the pronunciation is often (gɒːd) or even (gɔːd), and an affected form (gʌd) is not uncommon: see gud. (For the variations in oaths see 10 and 11.) In Sc. the usual pron. is (god), but Gude (g{obar}d), i.e. good a., is frequently substituted in such expressions as Gudesake, Gude keep's, etc.]
I. In the original pre-Christian sense, and uses thence derived.
1. A superhuman person (regarded as masculine: see goddess) who is worshipped as having power over nature and the fortunes of mankind; a deity. (Chiefly of heathen divinities; when applied to the One Supreme Being, this sense becomes more or less modified: see 6 b).
Even when applied to the objects of polytheistic worship, the word has often a colouring derived from Christian associations. As the use of God as a proper name has throughout the literary period of English been the predominant one, it is natural that the original heathen sense should be sometimes apprehended as a transferred use of this; ‘a god’, in this view, is a supposed being put in the place of God, or an imperfect conception of God in some of His attributes or relations.
Besides having been thus modified by the influence of the Christian use, this sense as expressed in the definition has been affected by the pagan uses of L. deus and Gr. θεός, of which god is the accepted rendering. Thus, in speaking of Greek mythology, we distinguish the gods from the dæmons or supernatural powers of inferior rank, and from the heroes or demigods, who, though objects of worship, and considered as immortal, were not regarded as having ceased to be men; and the analogy of this nomenclature is often followed in speaking of modern polytheistic religions.
When the word is applied to heathen deities disparagingly, it is now written with a small initial; when the point of view of the worshipper is to any extent adopted, a capital may be used.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter xcv. 5 Alle godas ðioda [sind] ðioful. a 1000 Juliana 121 Ᵹif..þu fremdu godu forð bigongest. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 227 And com se deofel to har anlicnesse and þer an wnede and to mannen sprece swice hi godes were. c 1205 Lay. 5405 æðes we sulleð þe swerien..uppen ure godd..þe is icliped Dagon. a 1300 Cursor M. 780 Als godds suld ȝee seluen be. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 299 Fogous..ordeyned temples to worschip þe false goddes ynne; þerfore he was acounted a god amonge hem þat worschipped suche goddes. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8145 Our hegh goddes, Wold be wrothe at our werkes. 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 99 They conteyne the wicked actes and whoredomes of the goddes. 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 122 That's a braue God, and beares Celestiall liquor. 1671 Milton Samson 1176 By combat to decide whose God is God, Thine or whom I with Israel's Sons adore. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 643 Audacious Youth, what Madness cou'd provoke A Mortal Man t' invade a sleeping God? 1752 Young Brothers i. i. Wks. 1757 II. 212, I do not think at all; The gods impose, the gods inflict, my thoughts. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. I. 205 Some changes are made by the Jáins in the rank and circumstances of the Hind{uacu} gods. 1842 Macaulay Lays, Horatius i, Lars Porsena of Clusium By the Nine Gods he swore That [etc.]. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. i. 300 Surely no man this is, But some god weary of the heavenly bliss. |
† b. occas. prefixed (without article) to the name of a deity (or of a person likened to one).
Obs.| 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 490 A monstir maid be god Mercurius. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iii. iii. 143 Like god Bels priests in the old Church window. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 169 Yet god Achilles still cries excellent. |
c. Used with defining addition, chiefly referring to the department of nature or human activity or passion, over which a particular god was supposed to rule. In this use the reference, unless there is indication to the contrary, is usually to Græco-Roman mythology, the deities of which are often mentioned rhetorically or humorously as mere personifications of qualities or influences.
the god of day: the Sun.
the god of war: Mars (Ares).
the god of love,
the blind god: Amor (Eros), or Cupid.
the god of wine: Bacchus.
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 161/1 A God of batylle, mars. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 39 Apollo god of learninge. 1808 J. Barlow Columb. ii. 616 Hail us children of the God of day. 1816 J. Wilson in J. Hamilton Mem. ii. (1859) 53 The last beams of the God of day. |
d. the god of this world: the Devil, Satan.
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Cor. iv. 4 In whiche the God of this world hath blyndid the soules of men out of the bileue. |
e. Phrases.
ye gods (and little fishes)! used to express mock-heroic indignation.
a feast, sight, etc. (fit) for the gods: said of something delightful or amazing.
| 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 173 Let's carue him, as a Dish fit for the Gods. 1761 Boswell Let. (1857) 17 Dec. 383 It is Captain Andrew! it is! it is! Ye gods, he seizes! he opens! he reads! 1807 C. Wilmot Let. 15 May Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 243 Oh! ye Gods! How you are to be envied & every Mortal alive. 1871 L. M. Alcott Little Men ii. 27 But out of school,—Ye gods and little fishes! how Tommy did carouse! a 1900 Mod. The fierce scrimmage that ensued was a sight for the gods. 1909 H. G. Wells Ann Veronica i. 9 ‘Ye gods!’ she said at last. ‘What a place!’ 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 26 We used harmless expletives like..Ye Gods and little fishes. 1964 W. Markfield To Early Grave (1965) xi. 187 He cried to himself ‘Ye Gods!’ and ‘Whoosh!’ |
f. god from (or out of) the (or a) machine = deus ex machina.
| 1868 Trollope Phineas Finn (1869) I. xxxi. 257 A gallant young member of that House..had appeared upon the spot at the nick of time;—‘As a god out of a machine,’ said Mr. Daubeny, interrupting him. 1888 Kipling Soldiers Three 1 (title of story) The god from the machine. 1910 Chesterton G. B. Shaw 116 Shaw..disliked the god from the machine—because he was from a machine. 1959 Listener 26 Nov. 911/2 The heads of government of the Great Powers are not gods from the machine. 1970 N. Fisher Walk at Steady Pace iii. 157 If the God from the Machine was to solve my troubles he was by far the most convincing candidate. |
2. An image or other artificial or natural object (as a pillar, a tree, a brute animal) which is worshipped, either as the symbol of an unseen divinity, as supposed to be animated by his indwelling presence, or as itself possessing some kind of divine consciousness and supernatural powers; an idol.
| c 1000 Laws of ælfred c. 10 in Schmid Gesetze 58 Ne wyrc þu þe gyldne godas oððe seolfrene. c 1000 ælfric Exod. xx. 4 Ne wirc þu þe agrafene godas. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3541 He seiden to aaraon ‘Mac vs godes foren us to gon’. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxxi. 30 Why hast thow stoln my goddis? 1535 Coverdale Exod. xxxiv. 17 Thou shalt make y⊇ no goddes of metall. 1697 Potter Antiq. Greece i. xix. (1715) 105 The Consecration of new Gods. 1731 Pope Ep. Burlington 8, Statues, dirty Gods, and Coins. 1838 Arnold Hist. Rome I. i. 1 They remembered to carry their gods with them, who were to receive their worship in a happier land. |
3. transf. a. of persons, as objects of adoration, or as possessed of absolute power.
| c 1000 ælfric Exod. vii. 1 And drihten cwæð to Moise, Nu ic ᵹesette þe Pharaone to gode. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 1 Yf these goddes of the Earth would suffer me to enjoy suche happinesse. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 49 Some there are that make gods of soldiers in open warrs. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. ii. 114 Sweare by thy gratious selfe, Which is the God of my Idolatry. 1692 S. Johnson Abrog. Jas. I 29 Such an Usurper is a God upon Earth, which it is easie for some sort of Men to make. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 14 Sir Aylmer Aylmer, that almighty man, The county god. 1883 Sir F. Pollock in Fortn. Rev. 1 Oct. 537 The ruling gods of the circulating libraries. |
b. of things.
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1633) 282 Like a man whose will was his God, and his hand his law. 1625 Fletcher Nt. Walker i. i, The old mans god, his gold, has wonne upon her. 1852 Robertson Lect. Ep. Cor. xlvii. (1859) 430 A man's god is that which has his whole soul and worship, that which he obeys and reverences as his highest. 1896 in Daily News 30 Dec. 6/2 [He] is convinced there is no God so omnipotent as that of the full purse. |
4. Theat. [So called because seated on high.]
pl. The occupants of the gallery. Also
gallery-gods. Also
rarely in
sing.| 1752 Adventurer No. 3 The servant whose business it is, as Homer says, ‘To shake the regions of the gods with laughter’. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. (ed. 3) II. 108 The high regions assigned to that part of the audience called the ‘gods’, namely, the galleries. 1812 H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr., Drury Lane Hustings v, Each one shilling God within reach of a nod is, And plain are the charms of each Gallery Goddess. 1843 Thackeray Irish Sk.-bk. xxvii, One young god between the acts favoured the public with a song. 1851 ― Eng. Hum. vi. 301 Does he..appeal to the gallery gods with claptraps and vulgar baits to catch applause. 1885 Manch. Exam. 4 May 5/3 The wrath of the pittites and the gods was appeased. |
II. In the specific Christian and monotheistic sense. The One object of supreme adoration; the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. (Now always with initial capital.)
5. As a proper name.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter xlvi. 3 God [is]..cyning micel ofer alle godas. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 15 Þis beoð godes word þe god seolf idihte. c 1200 Ormin 623 Godess enngell Gabriæl Comm dun o Godess hallfe I Godess hus wiþþ Godess word. a 1300 Cursor M. 1061 Rightwis he was, and godds freind. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxii. 199 The lorde Chandos sayd to the prince..this iourney is yours: God is this day in your handes. 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle i. 129 God is an Essence intellectuall, A perfect Substance incorporeall. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxxi. 191 God; in which is contained Father, King, and Lord. 1741 Richardson Pamela (1824) I. 227 God, the all-gracious, the all-good, the all-bountiful, the all-mighty, the all-merciful God. 1877 E. R. Conder Bas. Faith iii. 95 For by this name God we understand an Infinite Mind, everywhere present, the source and foundation of all other existence, possessed of all possible power, wisdom, and excellence. |
b. Proverbs. (See also
dispose v. 7.)
| c 1450 Merlin 524 Ther-fore is seide a proverbe, that god will haue saued, no man may distroye. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon cxxx. 480 It is a comune prouerbe sayde, ‘whome that god wyll ayde, no man can hurt’. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 132 He maye..haue cause to saye so of his fletcher, as..is communelye spoken of Cookes:..that God sendeth vs good fethers, but the deuyll noughtie Fletchers. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 54 Spend, and god shall send saith tholde ballet. 1562 ― Prov. & Epigr. 165 God is where he was. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 25 It is said, God sends a curst Cow short hornes. 1721 Bailey s.v., As sure as God's in Gloucestershire. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. II. 175 God tempers the wind, said Maria, to the shorn lamb. 1822 Scott Nigel xxvii, That homely proverb that men taunt my calling with,—‘God sends good meat, but the devil sends cooks’. |
c. Phrases.
to depart to God, to die and go to heaven.
with God, in heaven.
out of God's blessing into the warm sun, from a better to a worse situation. Also in legal use,
act of God (see
act n. 4);
† to go to God, of a cause, to be adjourned
sine die.
| 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 104 Thomas duke of Excester, late departed to God. 1562 [see blessing vbl. n. 3]. a 1612 Sir J. Harington Epigr. ii. lvi, Pray God they bring vs not, when all is done, Out of Gods blessing into this warme sunne. 1612 in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 186 That which you have done about my transplantation doth very well agree with my desire; and I account it to be out of the warm sun into God's blessing. 1617 Ibid. II. 51 As due to his memory, who is with God. 1651 Fuller Abel Rediv. Ep. A 3 b, Doctor Featly, now at rest with God. |
d. With additional title or epithet:
The Lord God,
Almighty God,
God-almighty. Also prefixed to the designations of the persons of the Trinity,
God the Father,
God the Son,
God the Holy Ghost. (For further examples, see the accompanying words.)
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xvii. (1891) 312 Wuldriende God Fæder butan fruman. c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives (1890) II. 40 Sy þu ᵹebletsod drihten god. Ibid. 78 Se ælmihtiᵹa god. 1340 Ayenb. 99 Godes sone hit made. To god þe uader ine worde. God þe holy gost þet is þet me acseþ. c 1420 Prymer (E.E.T.S.) 47 God, fadir of heuene..God þe sone..God þe holi gost, haue merci of us! |
† e. In
ME. often used without addition for Christ. Similarly, in 16th c.,
in the year of God = Anno Domini.
Obs. (
Cf. Mother of God: see
mother.)
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 500 And þan he receyves God gostly. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 1006 By god that for us deyde. c 1565 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. (1728) 43 This Battle was stricken upon the Ascension-Day, in the Year of God, One thousand four hundred and fifty three Years. |
f. The possessive is sometimes rhetorically introduced before certain
ns. God's poor,
† God's poverty: the poor regarded as entrusted by God to the care of the devout.
God's truth: the absolute truth.
on God's earth: now often used as a mere emphatic synonym for ‘on earth’.
| c 1400 Plowman's T. 531 Of goddes pore they haten gestes. c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 124 A gouelere is a turmentour of goddys pore peple. 1563 Homilies, Keeping Clean Ch. ii. 86 Not forgettyng to bestowe our almes vppon Goddes pouertie [1623 poore]. 1583 T. Stocker Ciuile Warres Lowe C. i. 138 b, There were but 200 Spaniardes laid on Gods deare earth. 1847–78 Halliwell, God's-truth, an absolute truth. [So 1886 in Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk.] 1898 Daily News 31 May 6/6 We talked of work-houses..and then for the first time I heard colloquially the phrase, ‘God's poor.’ |
6. As an appellative.
a. A Being such as is understood by the proper name
God; a sole Divine Creator and Ruler of the Universe; that which God is represented to be according to some particular conception (as
the God of philosophy,
God of pantheism,
God of Judaism), or is manifested to be in some special department of His action (as the
God of nature,
God of revelation,
God of providence); God as contemplated in some special attribute or relation (as
the God of love,
God of mercy,
God of vengeance, etc.,
the God who made us, etc.,
my God or
our God, etc.).
| [1382 Wyclif 2 Cor. xiii. 11 Haue ȝe pees, and God of pees and loue schal be with ȝou.] 1535 Coverdale Rom. xv. 5 The God of pacience and consolacion. 1563 B. Googe Eglogs viii. (Arb.) 63 A God there is, that guyds the Globe, and framde the fyckle Spheare. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. v. 889 To Believe a God, is to Believe the Existence of all Possible Good and Perfection in the Universe. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 161 Happy the man, who sees a God employ'd In all the good and ill that checker life! 1813 Hurn Ps. & Hymns 283 The God of truth his church has bless'd. 1817 Coleridge Sibyll. Leaves (1862) 187 The God who framed Mankind to be one mighty family. 1827 Keble Chr. Y., Communion, O God of Mercy, God of Might. 1877 E. R. Conder Bas. Faith Pref. 12 Is there a God? Is there an Infinite, All-wise, All-powerful Spirit? Mod. An unjust God would be no God at all. |
b. With partial reversion to the general sense (see 1), in contexts where the One True God is contrasted with the false gods of heathenism.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxxxv. 2 Þam þe ece is ealra godena god. c 1000 ælfric Deut. x. 17 Drihten sylf ys goda god, mære god and mihtiᵹ. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xii. 142 There is no God but on & Machomete his Messager. |
c. God of the gaps, God adduced as an explanation for phenomena not yet explained by science; God thought of as acting only in those spheres not otherwise accounted for.
| [1894 H. Drummond Ascent of Man x. 426 There are reverent minds who ceaselessly scan the fields of Nature and the books of Science in search of gaps—gaps which they will fill up with God. As if God lived in gaps? 1927 C. E. Raven Creator Spirit iv. 113 Only disaster awaits the religion which..tries to fit God into the gaps left by scientific study.] 1955 C. A. Coulson Science & Christian Belief i. 20 There is no ‘God of the gaps’ to take over at those strategic places where science fails. 1966 I. G. Barbour Issues in Sci. & Relig. ii. 43 God the Cosmic Plumber, mending the leaks in his system... This was ‘the God of the gaps’, introduced to explain areas of scientific ignorance. 1970 J. A. Baker Foolishness of God x. 250 There is a phrase which has had some currency as a taunt against Christians on the run in a scientific age. They are said to believe in a ‘God of the gaps’, the gaps in question being the ever-closing gaps in our scientific knowledge. 1979 A. R. Peacocke Creation & World of Sci. i. i. 24 The two-realm ontologies lead to a God-of-the-gaps concept of God's relation to the world. |
III. Phraseological uses of sense 5.
*
Exclamatory and parenthetic phrases expressing feeling or desire.
7. The vocative, as
ah God,
oh God,
my God,
good God, etc., is used to express strong feeling or excitement.
| 1340 Ayenb. 92 A god hou hi byeþ foles [etc.]. 1573 New Custom ii. iii, Preciouse God, it frettes mee to the very gall. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxviii. xvi, And yet (good God) how ofte this crooked kind, Incenst him in the desert every where? 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. v. 61 Who's this? Oh God! It is my Father's face. a 1603 Heywood Woman killed w. Kindn. (1617) B 3, Sus. O God: a Surgeon there. 1812 T. Amyot Speeches Windham I. 134 In which the words, ‘My God!’ had been made use of on a light occasion. 1855 Tennyson Maud i. 60 Ah God, as he used to rave. |
† b. Followed by a wish. Chiefly
Sc. in the phrases
God gif,
God nor = would to God that...
A verb may have been dropped in these expressions.
| c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 734 Greit God gif I war now..Vpon the mure. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxii. 4 God gif ȝe war Johne Thomsounis man. 1535 Lyndsay Satyre 1325 God nor my trewker mence ane ledder. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xxii. 50 O monstrous bird! God nor ye gleddis ȝe [= thee] get. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iv. i. 308 O God that I were a man. |
8. In phrases expressive of a strong wish, chiefly for the benefit or injury of some person, as
God bless,
God damn,
God help,
God preserve,
God save,
† God shield,
† God speed,
† God yield (you, him, etc.); also
God forbid,
God grant (that);
God give (something): for these see the various verbs. Hence occasionally used in participial expressions.
Some of these phrases assumed abbreviated or corrupted forms through frequent use, as
God eyld (ild, dild) you,
goddilge yee = God yield you (see
yield);
God b'wy (buy) ye = God be with you (see
good-bye);
God (Godge) you good even = God give you, etc. (also
God dig-you-den,
God(g)igoden: see good-even). In such phrases as have remained current,
God is often omitted, as
bless you,
damn you,
preserve us.
| 1579 G. Harvey Let. to Spenser Wks. (Grosart) I. 24 Youre Latine Farewell is a goodly braue yonkerly peece of work, and goddilge yee, I am alwayes maruellously beholding vnto you, for your bountifull Titles. 1599 Marston Sco. Villanie iii. xi. 226 This bumbast foile-button..after the God-sauing ceremony, For want of talke-stuffe, fals to foinery. 1600 Nashe Summers Last Will Wks. (Grosart) VI. 89 God giue you good night in Watling Street. 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. iii. 189 God be with you [Qq. God bu'y]: I haue done. 1612 in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 194 God keep them from base courses! 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iv. viii. ¶8 A profusion of farewells and God-be-with-you's. 1814 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) XII. 6 God send that I may be in time to prevent mischief! 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge xl, To be..God-blessed..by one who carried ‘Sir’ before his name..was something for a porter. 1894 H. H. Gardener Unoff. Patriot 236 I'll burn every God-damned house I come to. |
God bless is also used
ellipt. for ‘God bless you’ as a wish for God's blessing on a person or as an expression of goodwill,
esp. at parting.
| 1964 P. M. Hubbard Picture of Millie iv. 42 She took the drink... ‘I don't know what to say,’ she said. ‘Would {oqq}God bless{cqq} do?’ 1964 ‘J. Roffman’ Likely to Die vi. 69 ‘That would mean that I'd arrive here soon after half-past five.’ She smiled. ‘That will be fine. God bless, Albert.’ 1966 ‘E. Peters’ Piper on Mountain i. 20 Now good night, and God bless! Don't stay up too late! 1967 ‘M. Hunter’ Cambridgeshire Disaster xvi. 109 Try and forget me, David, God bless. |
b. Many of these combinations, as
God bless me (
my soul, etc.),
God save me, etc. are used (profanely) as mere exclamations of surprise (see the
vbs.).
† So in the shortened form
Gods (= God save) me,
my life,
my soul, etc.
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 209 Gods my life! Stolne hence and left me asleepe. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iii. iv, Gods my life; did you euer hear the like? a 1603 Heywood Woman killed w. Kindn. (1617) F 4, Gods me no such dispatch. 1605 Chapman All Fooles iii. i. E 3 b, Gods my deare soule, what sudden change is here! 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. Rom. ii. 191 Gods me, said Trasiclea. |
† c. God's forbot (see
forbode)
= God forbid. Hence corruptly
God sware-bot,
Godsworbet.
Obs.| c 1460 Towneley Myst. ii. 38, I fend, godis forbot, that euer thou thrife. c 1530 Int. Beauty & Properties Women A v b, Ells godds forbod She hath equall power of my lyff vnder god. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Dieu, A dieu ne plaise, God forbid, God shield, God sware-bot. 1641 Witts Recreat. Epigr. 526 One tels strange newes, tother Godsworbet cries, The third shakes head, alack replies. |
d. God forbid,
Rhyming slang (see
quots.).
Cf. Gawd-forbid.
| 1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. 144/2 God-forbids, kids—a cynical mode of describing children by poor men who dread a long family. 1960 J. Franklyn Dict. Rhyming Slang 70/1 God forbid(s), (1) Kids (child or children), (2) Yids (Jews), (3) lid (hat). |
9. In phrases which express dependence upon or grateful recognition of divine providence.
a. if (or † and) God will (also
dial. an Gothill,
a Goddil);
God willing,
† will God. (
And God will was formerly sometimes used ironically,
= ‘save the mark’.)
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 4561 Love shal never, if god wil, Here of me,..Offence or complaynt. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 766 Will God, I sall eschape this tresoune fals. 1526 Wolsey in St. Papers Hen. VIII (1830) I. 184 The said realme may yet, God willing, be preserved and releved. 1542 Becon Pathw. Prayer xlvi. R ij b, Monstures, Monckes I would haue sayd, & other religious parsons, and God wyll, as they desyre to be called. 1588 Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 28 Naye (quoth Penrie) neuer so long as I liue god-willing. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. v. 187. c 1688 H. Herbert in Reb. Warner Epist. Curios. Ser. i. 72 We both intend, God willing, to set forward for London on Munday next. 1706 Wycherley Let. to Pope in P.'s Lett. (1735) 25 Afterwards to spend two Months (God willing) with you, at Binfield. 1790 Mrs. Wheeler Westmld. Dial. (1821) 43 Ise find tea a maister, a goddil! 1825–80 Jamieson s.v. Gothill, An Gothill, if God will... ‘In Gothill I'll be there’. 1835 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 25 Next year, God willing, I shall see you all again. |
b. by († with) God's grace;
by (with) God's help,
assistance,
blessing, etc.
| 832 Kentish Charter in O.E. Texts 40/11 Ic ceolnoð mid godes gefe ercebiscop. 13.. Sir Beues (A.) 412 Y nam no truant, be godes grace. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xviii. 51, I sall, with Goddis grace, Keip his command. 1619 Sanderson Serm. ad Cler. i. (1689) 3, I shall by Gods assistance proceed..to inquire how [etc.]. 1662 Bk. Com. Prayer, Catechism, Yes verily; and by Gods help so I will. 1859 Tennyson Enid 344 Here, by God's grace, is the one voice for me. |
† c. (and) God before (or to fore), under God's guidance.
with God to friend: with God's help or protection.
Obs.| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 1049 And dredelees, if that my lyf may laste, And god to-forn, lo, som of hem shal smarte. c 1400 Rom. Rose 7198 They shal neuere haue that myght And god to forne for strif to fight That [etc.]. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 14 Diuerse exsaumples, the whiche, and God before, ye shalle take hede of. c 1500 Melusine xxi. 127 For god before we tende & purpose to gyue bataylle to the Sawdan. 1533 J. Heywood Pard. & Friar B iv, I wyll neuer come hether more, Whyle I lyue and god before. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 28 So forward on his way (with God to frend) He passed forth. 1594 Kyd Cornelia iii. E 4 b, Els (god to fore) my selfe may liue to see His tired corse lye toyling in his blood. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, i. ii. 307 For God before, Wee'le chide this Dolphin at his fathers doore. 1609 Drayton Cromwell 36 For in my skill his sound recouerie lies, Doubt not thereof if setting God before. |
d. under God: as a secondary cause or mediate object of gratitude.
| 1607 Peele's Jests B 1 a, Yet, quoth he, vnder God, I wil doe him some good. 1619 in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) II. 170 The blessedness of this good work, under God, is to be attributed to the king alone. |
e. thank God;
God be thanked,
praised, etc.
† Earlier
Gode þonc. Also
praised († loved) be God.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 11 Unbileue is aiware aleid and rihte leue arered godeðonc. 1352 Minot Poems (Hall) i. 53 Bot, loued be God, þe pride es slaked Of þam [etc.]. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 190 You breake iests as braggards do their blades, which God be thanked hurt not. 1607 Peele's Jests B 1 b, The fellow told him God be praised, his good Landlord was well recouered. 1753 Scots Mag. July 320/2 Most of the landholders have now, thank God! abandoned that..religion. 1842 Tennyson Lady Clare 17 ‘O God be thank'd!.. That all comes round so just and fair.’ |
10. God († it) wot (
arch.; see
goddot),
God knows.
a. Used to emphasize the truth of a statement.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4473 (Gött.) God wat..I sal vndo þe wele þi sueuen. c 1300 Havelok 2527 Þer-of held he wel his oth, For he it [a priory] made, god it woth. a 1529 Skelton Col. Cloute 234 Than renne they in euery stede, God wot, with dronken nolles. ? a 1550 Freiris Berwik 61 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 287 He went fra hame, God wait, on Weddins⁓day. 1564 Coverdale Lett. Martyrs 77 It is impossible to set forth..al y{supt} was (God knoweth) tumultuously spoken. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 229 The Chaine, Which God he knowes, I saw not. 1594 ― Rich. III, ii. iii. 18 Stood the State so? No, no, good friends, God wot. a 1617 Bayne On Eph. i. (1643) 214 Commonly the most Christians are counted good men godwot, but simple soules, of no parts. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 197 God wot, his shield is blank enough. |
b. Used with indirect question to imply that something is unknown to the speaker, and probably to every other human being.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 98 The sayd John was had after in great suspicion, whether justly or unjustly God knoweth. 1646 Buck Rich. III, iii. 85 Their bodies were bestowed God wot where. 1822 Byron Werner iv. i. 51 The country..Is over-run with—God knows who. 1823 ― Juan ix. lxvii, They fell in love;—she with his face, His grace, his God-knows-what. |
11. In earnest appeals or exhortations, as
for God's sake;
for God's love;
in (also † a, o') God's name;
† on or a God's half (see
half n. 2 d). For the use of adjuratory forms to the same effect, see 14.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8968 Madame he sede uor godes loue is þis wel ido Þat þou þes vnclene limes handlest. a 1300 Cursor M. 4798 (Cott.) Ga we alle, in gods name. Ibid. 4800 (Gött.), I ȝou pray for goddes sake [etc.]. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 854 What, welcome be the cut, a goddes name. 1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. K viij, These a Gods name wear their targettes again the shot of our small artillerie. 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 15 For God sake let not my tutor know it. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 251 But what o' Gods name doth become of this? 1610 B. Jonson Alch. v. iii, For Gods sake, when will her Grace be at leasure? 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 101 Hold! for God's sake—you'll offend. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 504 For God's love, a little air! 1864 ― En. Ard. 505 For God's sake..let it be at once. |
† 12. God pays: a proverbial expression of indifference to the consequences of one's action.
Obs.| 1605 Lond. Prodigal C 1 b, There be some that bares a souldiers forme, That..Goes swaggering vp and downe from house to house, crying God payes. 1616 B. Jonson Epigr. i. xii. Lieut. Shift, His onely answere is to all, god payes. 1626 ― Masque of Owls, Whom since they have shipt away, And left him God to pay. |
**
In oaths.
13. by God,
† before (or fore) God; also
by God above, etc. (
cf. by A 2).
From a desire to avoid actual use of the sacred name come various distorted or minced pronunciations of the word; see
cock,
dod,
gad,
gar,
ged,
gog,
goles,
golly,
gom,
gosh,
gosse,
gud,
gum; also
adad,
adod,
bedad,
begad,
begar,
ecod,
egad,
icod,
igad. Of these forms only
Cock and
Gog are common before 1600; the others occur mainly in the 17th and 18th c.
Gar is by the dramatists chiefly put in the mouths of foreigners (
cf. 14).
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7000 Vor gode [v.r. By god] þe nexte king..ne ȝef hom noȝt folliche so muche. a 1300 Cursor M. 7934 ‘Bi godd o-liue’, he suor his ath. 13.. Sir Beues (A.) 1098 ‘For gode’, queþ Beues, ‘þat ich do nelle’. c 1400 Gamelyn 469 It is nought wel served, by god that al made. 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 219 Be god þat bouȝte me dere. c 1500 Melusine xxxvi. 293 By god, my lord, shame is therof to you. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. (Percy Soc.) 48 That is well sayd, be God Almyght! c 1540 Heywood Four P.P. (Copland) C iv, Pardoner. I thought ye lyed. Poticary. And so thought I by god that dyed. 1557 Interl. Youth B j b, I sweare by God in Trinitie I wyll go fetche him vnto the. Ibid. B ij b, A wyfe nay nay for God auowe He shall haue fleshe inoughe. 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.) 22 Fran. Are they so? Comes. I, before God, are they. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. i. iii, 'Fore God, my intelligence Costs me more money, then my share oft comes too. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 157 By God, Sir, I will doe for Queene Elizabeth that which I will not doe for my selfe. 1841–4 Emerson Ess., Poet Wks. (Bohn) I. 170 He says with the old painter, ‘By God, it is in me, and must go forth of me’. 1885 Ormsby Don Quix. ii. xxxiv. III. 384 ‘By God and upon my conscience’, said the devil, ‘I never observed it’. |
14. In possessive combinations serving as asseverative or adjuratory formulæ. Preceded by
by or (in adjuratory use:
cf. 11) by
for; also with omission of
prep. (
Cf. Gad n.5 3.)
Corrupt or minced forms of these oaths are also common,
God's being altered or abbreviated to
Ads,
Cocks,
Cods,
Cuds,
Gads,
Gogs,
Guds,
His,
'Ods,
'S,
'Uds,
'Z (in
Zooks,
Zounds); of these only
Cocks and
Gogs are old, the others coming into use about 1600 or later; the full forms are rarely found after that date except as archaisms. The form
Gars is assigned to foreigners, as
gars blur,
garzowne in
Doctor Dodypoll (Bullen
O. Pl. III. 129),
garzoon in Farquhar (
Beaux Strat. iii. iii, etc.).
a. With ordinary
ns., sometimes preceded by an
adj.; also with the
adj. used elliptically, as
God's blest,
God's precious, etc.
In some of these oaths the
n. denotes an attribute of Deity; more usually,
God's = Christ's, as in
God's arms,
God's body,
God's blood, etc. In some jocular oaths, as in
God's brother,
God's fish,
God's hat,
God's malt, the
n. has no meaning in its connexion, being substituted for some word of solemn import.
| 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burn. Pestle i. iv, Bid the plaiers send Rafe, or by *Gods—, and they do not [etc.]. |
| 1608 Merry Devil Edmonton (1617) C 2 b, By *Gods blessed Angell, Thou shalt well know it. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Pard. T. 326 By *goddes Armes if thou falsly pleye [etc.]. c 1530 Hickscorner (c 1550) E ij, I forsake thy company. Imagynacyon. Goddes armes my company and why. |
| 1575 Gamm. Gurton v. ii, A great deale more (by *Gods blest,) than cheuer by the got. |
| 1549 Latimer 7th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 200 To sweare by *goddes bloude. |
| 1562–3 Jack Jugler (Roxb.) 21 *Godes body horeson thefe who tolde thee that same. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. i. 29 (Qo.) Gods bodie. The Turkies in my Panier are quite starued. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Shipman's Prol. 4 For *godis bonys Telle vs a tale. 1573 New Custom iii. i, Else I will smite thee..by goddes bones. |
| 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 142 *Gods-bores [cf. bore n. and Gog], what a deale of doe is here about nothing? |
| 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 932 That sall wee do, be *Gods breid. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 177 Gods bread, it makes me mad. |
| c 1537 Thersites (Roxb.) 64 Ye that I wyll, by *goddes deare brother. Ibid. 70 By goddes blessed brother Yf [etc.]. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 557 By *goddes corpus this goth faire and weel. |
| 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 1943 Be *Gods croun..I sall slay thee. |
| ? a 1550 Freiris Berwik 234 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 293 Awalk for *Goddis deid. |
| 1859 Tennyson Elaine 676 Yea, by *God's death..ye love him well. |
| 1564–78 *Gods dentie [see dentie]. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 350 Thow shalt be deed by *goddes dignitee. ? a 1550 Freiris Berwik 295 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 295, I will thame haif be Goddis dignite. |
| 1599, 1605 *God's dines [see dines]. |
| 14.. Sir Beues (Pynson) 2013, ‘I graunt’, sayde Beuys, ‘by *goddys dome’. |
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. xii. 305, A, *godys dere dominus, what was that sang? |
| 1340 Ayenb. 45 A knyȝt wes þet zuor be *godes eȝen. |
| c 1530 Hickscorner (c 1550) E ij b, By *goddes fast I was ten yere in Newgate. |
| c 1570 Marr. Wit & Science v. E j b, *Gods fishe hostes and knowe you not mee. 1675 Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 431, I have a passable good estate, I confess, but, God's-fish, I have a great charge upon't. 1716 C'tess Cowper Diary (1864) 95 To which he replied, God's Fish! (that was his common Oath) I don't believe a Word of all this. |
| c 1550 Wever Lusty Juventus D j, Yea by *gods foote that I wyl be busye. 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.) 58 Gods foote—I crye God hartely mercy! |
| 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xi, *God's fury! there shall no passangers come here. |
| 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 393 Or ȝe tuik skaith, be *Gods goun [etc.]. |
| 1573 New Custom ii. iii, Nowe by *goddes guttes I will neuer staye Tyll [etc.]. |
| 1569 T. Preston Cambyses D iv b, *Gods hat neighbour come away. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Pard. T. 323 By *goddes precious herte and by his nayles. ― Miller's T. 629 Help for goddes herte. 1573 New Custom ii. iii, Nay by Goddes harte, if I might doe what I list [etc.]. |
| 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. V, 19 By *god his blessed lady, I am a bacheler. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xix. (Arb.) 238 Gods lady I reckon my selfe as good a man as he. |
| 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. ii. iii, By *Gods lid, and you had not confest it ―. 1609 Ev. Wom. in Hum. ii. i. in Bullen O. Pl. IV, By Gods-lid, if I had knowne [etc.]. |
| 1604 Dekker Honest Wh. (1635) G 3 b, *Gods life, I was ne'r so thrumbed since I was a Gentleman. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 71 (Qo.) *Gods light I was neuer cald so in mine owne house before. a 1603 Heywood Woman killed w. Kindn. (1617) D 4, Gods light, harke within there. |
| 1519 Interl. Four Elem. (Percy Soc.) 36 *Goddis Lorde! seist not who is here now? 1600 Dekker Shoemaker's Holiday (1618) D 4, Gods Lord tis late, to Guild Hall I must hie. |
| 1575 Gamm. Gurton v. ii, *Gods malt, Gammer gurton. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s Prol. 1 Ey *goddes mercy seyde our Hoost tho. |
| c 1540 Heywood Four P.P. (Copland) D j b, No stone left standyng by *goddes mother. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. i. 153 Gods blest Mother, I sweare he is true-hearted. |
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. xvi. 116 By *gottys dere nalys I wyll peasse no langer. 1600 Dekker Shoemaker's Holiday (1610) H 2 b, Gods nailes do you thinke I am so base to Gull you? |
| 13.. Sir Beues (A) 2191 Be *godes name, Ichaue for þe sofred meche shame. |
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. ii. 400 Peasse, man, for *godis payn. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Shipman's Prol. 13 A-bide for *godis digne passion. 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 1438 That sall we do..be Gods passioun. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xvii. (Arb.) 194 Gods passion..said she, would thou haue me beare mo children yet? |
| 14.. Sir Beues (Pynson) 2090, I the tel by *goddys pyne. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. Prol. 18 Gladly..by goddes swete pyne. c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 227, I swere bi godis pyne. |
| 1569 T. Preston Cambyses B j b, Yea *Gods pittie, begin ye to intreat me? |
| 1592 Greene Upst. Courtier Wks. (Grosart) XI. 219 There were sweete Lillies, *Gods plenty, which shewed faire Virgins neede not weepe for wooers. |
| 1562–3 Jack Jugler (Roxb.) 23 Hens or by *gods precious I shall breake thy necke. 1602 How a man may choose Good Wife K 3, Gods pretious call me dotard. |
| 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.) 59 Go to, mistris; by *Gods pretious deere, If [etc.]. |
| 1859 Tennyson Enid 368 Here by *God's rood is the one maid for me. |
| 1575 Gamm. Gurton v. ii, *Gods sacrament the villain knaue hath drest vs round about. |
| 1577 Misogonus ii. iv. 157 (Brandl Quellen 448) *Gods sacringe, I haue lost a noble at two settes. |
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. ii. 458 Bi *Godis sydis, if thou do, I shall [etc.]. c 1530 Hickscorner (c 1550) E ij, By goddes sydes I had leuer be hanged. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's Prol. 24 By *goddes soul..that wol nat I. 1573 New Custom i. ii, I can not by goddes sowle. |
| 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iv. i, Draw, or by *Gods will ile thresh you. 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.) 96 Gods will, tis sir Ralph Smith. |
| c 1550 Wever Lusty Juventus D ij, This is an ernest fellow of *gods worde. |
| 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 991 That sall I nocht, be *Gods wounds. 1573 New Custom ii. iii, By goddes glorious woundes hee was worthy of none. |
† b. With
ns. not found in other contexts, and
prob. in most instances corrupt or fabricated, as
(by) God's bodykins,
God's pittikins (
= body, pity);
by God's diggers;
God's ludd;
by God's me (? from 8 b);
God's nigs;
(by) God's santy,
God's sonties (?
= sanctity);
God's sokinges. See also
Godsookers and
Gad n.5 3.
Obs.| 1602 Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 254 *Gods bodykins man, better. |
| 1651 Cleveland Poems 21 By *Gods-diggers, Hee'l swear in words at large. |
| 1577 Misogonus iv. i. 144 (Brandl Quellen 481) *Gods ludd. |
| 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.) 104 Yet, by *Gods me, Ile take no wrong. |
| 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 142 *Gods nigs (my masters) you need not find such fault with it. a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary iv. i. (1651) 59 Godsnigs the Farme is mine, and must be so. |
| 1600 Dekker Shoemaker's Holiday (1618) C 3, *Gods pittikins, hands off, sir, heres my Lord. |
| 1604 ― Honest Wh. (1635) K 2, *Gods santy, yonder come Friers. |
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 47 Be *God sonties, 'twill be a hard waie to hit. |
| 1577 Misogonus ii. ii. 1 (Brandl Quellen 437), *Gods sokinges, houlde your handes. |
† c. God's my arms,
passion,
pity, etc. (by confusion with 14 a and 8 b).
Obs.| 1577 Misogonus i. iii. 74 (Brandl Quellen 432) Godes my armes. 1599 Chapman Hum. Dayes Myrth Plays 1873 I. 58 Gods my passion what haue I done? 1604 Dekker Honest Wh. (1635) C 4 b, Gods my pittikins, some foole or other knocks. Ibid. D, Nay, Gods my pitty, what an Asse is that Citizen to lend monie to a Lord! |
15. In solemn asseverations, as
† so God me bless,
save, etc.;
so help me God (see
help);
as God's my judge, etc. Also with omission of
so or
as, and occasional corruption of the verb.
| c 1386 Chaucer Melib. Prol. 4 Also wisly god my soule blesse, Myn eres aken [etc.]. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xiii. 550 No, so god me blys. 1589 Tri. Love & Fortune iv. (Roxb.) 120 As god juggle me, when I came neere them [etc.]. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. ii. ii, I am asham'd of this base course of life, (God's my comfort) but [etc.]. Ibid. iv. i, As Gods my judge, they should haue kild me first. a 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Philaster iv. iii, God uds me, I understand you not. 1842 Tennyson Lady Clare 23 ‘As God's above..I speak the truth.’ |
IV. attrib. and
Comb. 16. Substantive combs.
a. attributive and appositive, as
god-belly,
god-clan,
god-crocodile, etc., and in
pl. gods-avengers,
† gods-guardians;
† god-bote (see
quot. 1674);
God-box, (
a)
slang, a church or other place of worship; (
b) (with lower-case initial) (see
quot. 1923);
god-home,
nonce-wd., the home of God, heaven; also used by W. Morris as
transl. of
ON. Goðheimr, the abode of the gods;
god-shelf, a shelf-like shrine of white wood holding the sacred images in a Shinto household;
God slot [
slot n.2 6], a period in a broadcasting schedule regularly reserved for religious programmes;
God squad slang (
orig. U.S. Colleges'), (the members of) a religious organization,
esp. an evangelical Christian group; those representing the religious interest;
god-tree (a tree worshipped as a god; also see
quot. 1866).
| 1868 Gladstone Juv. Mundi xv. §3 (1869) 527 That under⁓ground region, in which dwelt the *Gods-Avengers, and which was the realm of Aïdes and Persephone. |
| 1540 R. Wisdome in Strype Eccl. Mem. I. App. cxv. 322 This article [disbelief in masses for the dead] they take for my greatest Heresie. For indede this wringeth their *God-belly, that his eyes water for pain. 1675 J. Smith Chr. Relig. Appeal ii. 20 That devouring God-belly-gulph Heliogabalus. |
| c 1000 Laws of æthelred vi. c. 51 in Thorpe Laws I. 328 And ᵹif for *god-botan feoh-bot ariseð. 1674 Blount Glossogr. (ed. 4), God-bote (Sax.), a Fine or amerciament for crimes and offences against God; also an Ecclesiastical or Church fine. [Hence in Phillips, Bailey, and mod. Dicts.] |
| 1923 Ogden & Richards Meaning of Meaning ii. 37 The priests in whom gods were supposed to dwell (a belief which induced the Cantonese to apply the term ‘*god-boxes’ to such favoured personages)—are amongst the victims of this logophobia. 1928 Galsworthy Swan Song iii. xii. 305 This great box—God-box the Americans would call it—had been made centuries before the world became industrialised. 1962 New Statesman 25 May 768/2 A ring-a-ding God-box that will go over big with the flat-bottomed latitudinarians. |
| 1889 R. B. Anderson tr. Rydberg's Teut. Myth. 142 One of the *god-clans has committed the murder. |
| a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal 272 Whiles..the *god-crocodile seem'd tame, all was well. |
| 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 56 This their *Godfire is not composed of common combustibles. |
| 1876 Morris Sigurd iii. 217 The kin of the *God-folk. |
| 1844 Mrs. Browning Dead Pan xiii, Shall..no hero take inspiring From the *God-Greek of her lips? |
| 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 125 For all the helpe of these *gods-guardians, there was not one king of them that continued his raigne in peace. |
| 1839 Bailey Festus xiii. (1848) 120 *God-home and glory-land. 1876 Morris Sigurd iii. 216 A burg of people builded for the lords of God-home meet. |
| Ibid. iv. 379 Round the fettered and bound they throng As men in the bitter battle round the *God-kin over-strong. |
| 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xv. §122 (1875) 344 All titles of honour are originally the names of the *god-king. |
| 18.. Mrs. Browning An Island xxvii, Or Poet Plato, had the undim Unsetting *God-light broke on him. |
| a 1711 Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 109 The holy Jesus..Co-effluent *God-Love on his Spirit shed. |
| 1634 Massinger Very Woman iii. i, They have new creators, *God-tailor, and *God-mercer. |
| 18.. Mrs. Browning Seraph & Poet, The seraph sings before the manifest *God-One. |
| 1772 Nugent tr. Hist. Fr. Gerund I. 522 Building to the *God-Ram the first temple. |
| 1876 F. V. Dickins tr. Chikamatsu's Chiushingura 171 One of these O-harai ought to find a place upon every domestic Kami-dana, or *god-shelf—a small model of a Shinto temple to be found in almost every house, labelled with the names of various deities. 1903 S. L. Gulick Evol. Japanese xxv. 292 There is hardly a house in Japan but has some..of these charms, either nailed on the front door or placed on the god-shelf. 1905 D. Sladen Playing Game xii, They are never too poor to have a little light burning on the god-shelf. |
| 1972 Times 12 Oct. 17/6 Of course there is a balance on TV. Peter Hain and Jimmy Reid get their chance on the *God slot on Sunday, or Late Night Line-up when everybody is in bed. 1985 Sunday Tel. 17 Feb. 3/2 This latest move cuts by half the religious programming on ITV on Sunday afternoon and evening, and could lead to the disappearance of the ‘God slot’, the so-called ‘closed period’ for religious programmes on television. |
| 1697 Dryden æneid Ded. b 4, æneas..had the same *God-Smith to Forge his Arms as had Achilles. |
| 1969 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) III. 57 *God squad, Crusade for Christ on Campus.—University of Kentucky. The God Squad will not meet tonight. 1977 Time 26 Dec. 42/3 Cleaver was later converted by a prison ‘God squad’. 1983 Observer 29 May 3/5 BBC executives..said: ‘Beware the unexpected—and keep tabs on the God squad.’ |
| 1839 Bailey Festus (1854) 412 He in the *God-state first..passed away. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot., *Godtree, Eriodendron anfractuosum. 1896 F. B. Jevons Introd. Hist. Relig. xix. 252 A branch of the god-tree, some actual ears of wheat or maize, are worshipped as Very God. |
b. objective, as
God- (or god-) consciousness,
god-foe,
god-hater,
god-idea,
god-maker,
god-monger, etc.;
God-dreading,
god-making vbl. ns.| 1894 G. M. Grant Relig. World ii. 29 The *God-consciousness of Israel expanded under the leadership of a long succession of prophets and psalmists. 1914 F. B. Wilson (title) The man of to-morrow. Human evolution impelling man onward to God-consciousness. |
| a 1300 Cursor M. 29205 Þe gift o wijt..o *gode dreding. |
| 1615 Chapman Odyss. i. 118 The *God-foe Polypheme. |
| 1643 Vicars (title) A Looking-Glasse for Malignants: or God's hand against *God-haters. |
| 1898 W. James Coll. Ess. & Rev. (1920) 429, I am now using the *God-idea merely as an example, not to discuss as to its truth or error. 1910 E. S. Ames Psychol. Relig. Experience 319 The God-idea is a teleological idea. 1924 W. B. Selbie Psychol. Relig. 119 The origin of the god-idea varies with different peoples. 1949 Horizon Mar. 225 However primary and archetypical the God-idea may be. |
| 1541 Barnes Wks. (1573) 340/1 Now woulde I knowe of these new *Godmakers, by whose power and helpe that the first Sainte came into heauen. 1875 M. Arnold Isa. xl–lxvi. Notes 122 This God-maker is hungry and faint, even at the very time that he is at his God-making. |
| 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 652 Art..in this matter of *God-making, commonly gets the upper hand. |
| 1883 J. Parker Apost. Life II. 206 You will be but jostling a whole crowd of *god-mongers. |
| 1647 Trapp Comm. John iii. 15 By like reason we may say that sin is *God-murther. |
| ― Comm. Rom. i. 30 Haters of God. And so *God-murtherers. |
| ― Comm. Coloss. i. 21 Haters of God..and so *God-slaiers. |
| ― Mellif. Theol. in Comm. Ep. 730 This is Deicidium, *God-slaughter. |
| 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 50 Gods they had tried of every shape and size That *god-smiths could produce, or priests devise. 1895 Spurgeon in Daily News 7 Oct. 6/4 When I was at Pompeii I saw a God-smith's shop. He had several statues finished up to the face. |
c. possessive (see also 5 f), as
† God's band, the bond of marriage;
† God's board (see
board n. 6);
† God's body, the sacramental bread;
God's book, the Bible;
† God's chest, the temple-treasury;
† God's cope (see
cope n.3 2);
God's (own) country (see
country 2 b);
God's-daughter,
† day (see
quots.);
† god's eye [
= med.L.
Oculus Christi],
clary; also (see
quot. 1880);
God's-eye-view, a view as seen by God;
† god's flower,
Helichrysum Stœchas (
Treas. Bot. 1866);
God's (own) gift, a godsend;
† god's guests, strangers, chance comers;
† god's house, (
a) ? a pyx, (
b) an almshouse [
cf. F.
maison Dieu];
god's image, the human body (after
Genesis i. 27);
† god's kichel (see
quot.);
† god's marks (see
quot. 1558);
God's quantity colloq., a large amount; an abundance;
god's service,
† in Coverdale [after
Ger. gottesdienst]
= worship, an act of worship;
† god's sond,
send, what is sent by God; hence, worldly possessions (
cf. God's good);
god's Sunday (see
quots.);
† god's tokens = God's marks. See also
God's acre,
God's good,
God's-penny.
In
OE. and
ME. the possessive was also employed in such phrases as
God's church,
God's house,
God's lamb,
God's man,
God's mother,
God's son,
God's word, etc. where the modern expression commonly is
the church,
house, etc.
of God; see the various
ns.| 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 41 Hyr dochtir..Was coupillyt in⁓to *goddis band, With Walter, stewart off Scotland. |
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 313 A wenche..fenge *Goddes body an Ester day. 1549 Ponet Def. Marr. Priests 45 He hadde the same day sayde masse (which he called the makynge of Gods body). |
| 971, 1548 *God's book [see book n. 14]. 1635 D. Dickson Hebr. vi. 28 As manie Plagues as are written in God's Booke. |
| 1535 Coverdale Mark xii. 41 Iesus sat ouer agaynst the *Gods chest & behelde how the people put money in to the Gods chest. |
| 1520–53 *God's cope [see cope n.3 2]. 1598 Florio, Montemari, impossibilities, gods cope, heauen and earth, seas and mountaines. |
| c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 292 He mordryth *goddys dowȝter, þat is, his owen soule. |
| 14.. Exortacio in die Pasche in Hampson Medii ævi Kal. I. 186 [The Paschal Day] in some place is callede Esterne Day, and in sum place *Goddes Day. |
| 14.. MS. Sloane No. 5 in Halliwell s.v., *Godeseie, gallitritum. 1880 Britten & Holland Plant.-n., God's Eye Veronica Chamædrys. |
| 1920 *God's-eye view [see eye view]. 1936 A. Huxley Eyeless in Gaza vii. 85 One has made a habit of not feeling anything very strongly; it's easy, therefore, to take the God's-eye view of things. 1970 Guardian 14 May 9/6 Frank Tuohy's..short stories..are mostly studies in suburban isolation,..the God's-eye-view with God on the stage. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herball ii. cxcvii. § 5. 522 Golden Flower is called in Latine Coma aurea ..in English Golde Flower, *Gods Flower, and Golden Stœcados. |
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xvi. 199 Mynstralcie can ich nat muche bote make men murye..and welcome *godes gistes. c 1400 Plowman's T. 747 On the pore they woll nought spend Ne no good give to goddes gest. |
| 1938 ‘E. Queen’ Four of Hearts (1939) i. i. 9 (heading) *God's gift to Hollywood. 1941 M. Allingham Traitor's Purse xx. 228 Amanda was God's own gift to anyone in a hole. 1953 H. Clevely Public Enemy xxi. 151 It may do him a bit of good to find out he isn't God's gift to women walking the earth. |
| 1377–8 Durham Acct. Rolls 387 Item in uno Chaliskays et uno *Godeshous pro rotulis officii, vjd. 1425 in Entick London (1766) IV. 354 The same house to be called for ever God's-house, or almes-house. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 284 Sir Richard de Abberbury..founded for poore people a Gods-house [Note, Almeshouse]. |
| 1837 Col. Thompson Sp. Ho. Com. 19 May, Many in that House were old enough to have seen *God's image sorely mangled..for what were termed political offences. |
| 1598 Speght Chaucer's Wks. B bbb, A cake..called a *Gods kichell, because godfathers and god-mothers vsed commonly to giue one of them to their god-children, when they asked blessing. |
| 1531 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 105 He..also was full of *Godys markys. 1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. (1568) 39 A very good remedye agaynst the markes of the plague, commonly called Goddes markes. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. i. 59/2 Some with Gods markes or Tokens doe espie, Those Marks or Tokens, shew them they must die. |
| 1911 C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling xxviii. 242 There was *God's quantity of fish. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 287 Big foxy thief..lifted any God's quantity of tea and sugar. |
| 1679 J. Brown Life of Faith (1716) II. xv. 127 We should make the Cross of Christ wel⁓come, because it is *God's Send. |
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Sam. xv. 8, I shal do a *Gods seruyce vnto the Lorde. ― Acts xvii. 23, I haue gone thorow & sene youre gods seruyce. |
| 1306 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 223 Alle þe oþer pouraille..mihten be ful blyþ e ant thonke *godes sonde. c 1386 Chaucer Shipman's T. 219 Ye have ynough pardee of goddes sonde. c 1440 York Myst. xiii. 217 With synne was I never filid, Goddis sande is on me sene. |
| 14.. Exortacio in die Pasche in Hampson Medii ævi Kal. II. 184 Þis is callede in some place Astur Day; & in sum place Pasche Day, & in summe place *Godeis Sunday. 1483 Festival d iiij, This day also is callyd goddes sonday. For crist goddes sone thys day rose from deth to lyf. |
| 1582 J. Hester Secr. Phiorav. iii. xxix. 45 *Gods tokens, the whiche commonly come vnto those that haue the Pestilent Feuer. |
17. Participial combinations.
a. With active
pples. (chiefly objective), as
God-adoring,
God-affronting, etc.
| a 1711 Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 326 A *God-adoring Race. |
| 1671 M. Bruce Good News Evil Times (1708) 10 The most *God-affronting Perjury. |
| 1885 W. de G. Birch Life Harold Prol. 105 The glorious and *God-bearing Cross. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 33 Men awless, lawless live..a *God-contemning race. |
| Ibid. 34 *God-despising wights. |
| a 1711 Ken Hymnarium Poet. Wks. 1721 II. 111 The Sin, which..from the *God-detesting Spirit streams. |
| 1895 J. Smith Message Exod. xv. 250 This *God-disowning, good-defying spirit. |
| 1718 Rowe tr. Lucan 180 The wily, fearful, *God-dissembling Maid. |
| 1673 J. Janeway Heaven on E. (1847) 294 *God-estranging sins. |
| 1850 Carlyle Latter-d. Pamph. iv. 39 Putrid unveracities and *godforgetting greedinesses. |
| 1603 Harsnet Pop. Impost. 73 The *God-gastring Giants, whom Jupiter overwhelmed with Pelion and Ossa. 1607 R. C. tr. Estienne's World of Wonders i. i. 20 They tell vs strange tales of god-gastering Giants, who heaped mightie mountains one vpon another. |
| a 1711 Ken Urania Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 448 *God-hymning Saints. |
| ― Blandina ibid. 519 *God-intenerating Pray'rs. |
| 1678 Gale Crt. Gentiles iii. 65 Christ's crucifixion..was a sin..containing..*God-killing bloud-guiltinesse. |
| 1838 S. Bellamy Betrayal 64 Example fair Thou wast, of *God-loving humility. |
| 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xxxvii. (1640) 93 A *God-mocking equivocation. |
| 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 306 Amaziah and the *God-opposing party. |
| 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. v. 76 Her *God-resembling sonne [Achilles]. |
| 1892 J. Hutchison Our Lord's Signs i. 25 A believing *God-seeing heart. |
b. With passive
pple. (chiefly instrumental), as
God-begotten,
God-built,
God-created, etc.
| 1929 W. B. Yeats Winding Stair 11 And *God-appointed Berkeley that proved all things a dream. |
| 1894 C. L. Johnstone Canada 56 Carrying on the *God-assigned task of conquering the earth. |
| a 1602 Drayton Heroic. Ep. xi. 80 That horse of fame, that *God-begotten steed. 1839 Bailey Festus i. (1848) 3 All souls, impregned with spirit, God-begot. |
| 1838 J. Stevenson tr. Beda's Eccl. Hist. (1853) 577 That..the sanctity of the *God-beloved further might be manifested to the faithful. |
| 1715–20 Pope Iliad xiii. 1030 Your boasted city, and your *god-built wall. 1735 Thomson Liberty iv. 297 The seeming God-built City. |
| 1956 C. S. Lewis Let. (1966) 269 The test of music or religion..is always the same—do they make one..more *God-centred..and less self-centred? |
| 1841 Miall in Nonconf. I. 97 An image..not *God-created, but made by the hands of man. |
| 1715–20 Pope Iliad vi. 236 The..*god-descended chief. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xv. §122 (1875) 344 Presently others of the god-descended race were similarly saluted. |
| 1845 Whittier in Amer. Liberty Almanac 1846 26 And the solemn priest to Moloch, on each *God-deserted shrine. |
| 1895 W. M. Ramsay St. Paul x. ii. 216 The usual type of *God-driven devotees. |
| 1868 Ld. Houghton Select. fr. Wks. 105 The greatest of all possible gifts, Which *God-empowered man can give to man. |
| a 1711 Ken Hymns Evang. Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 129 Food to ev'ry *God-enamour'd Mind. |
| 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 562 Let the *God-enlightened soul go on [etc.]. |
| 1864 ― Lect. Daniel ii. 61 Human power..has a majesty, lent it by God, even when it abuses the *God-entrusted gift. |
| 1675 Hobbes Odyss. (1677) 34 Choisest meat, Which none but *god-fed kings eat. |
| 1643 Milton Divorce i. ii. 6 If the woman be naturally so of disposition, as will not help to remove..that same *God-forbidd'n loneliness, which [etc.]. |
| 1889 R. Buchanan Heir of Linne vi, ‘A *God-forgotten place’, he said at last, as the dog-cart stopped. |
| 1888 A. J. Butler Dante, Par. ii. 17 The *God-formed realm. |
| 1863 Tennyson Milton in Cornh. Mag. Dec. 707 *God-gifted organ-voice of England. 1907 ‘D. Donovan’ Gold-spinner i. 1 ‘God-gifted and beautiful’ was Helga Arnold! |
| 1800 Asiat. Ann. Reg., Chron. India 31/2 This *God-given victory. 1865 Seeley Ecce Homo ii. (ed. 8) 14 The Messiah was..to crush all opposition by God-given might. |
| 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) II. 337 In this case 'tis not a self-govern'd but a *God-govern'd machine. |
| 1927 W. B. Yeats October Blast 22 These *God-hated children. |
| 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 287 The natural *God-implanted feeling is the germ of the spiritual. |
| 1865 Mill Comte 30 Hippocrates..could say with impunity, speaking of what were called the *god-inflicted diseases, that to his mind they were neither more nor less god-inflicted than all others. 1936 L. MacNeice tr. Aeschylus' Agamemnon 52 From whence these rushing and God-inflicted Profitless pains? |
| 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxiv. 505 That *God inspired man, with heauenly goodnesse fild. 1839 Bailey Festus xx. (1848) 265 God-inspired To utter truth. |
| 1839 Longfellow Hyperion ii. vi. (1853) 103 He is what the Transcendentalists call a *God-intoxicated man. 1877 E. Caird Philos. Kant iii. 43 Spinoza is more truly described by Novalis as a God-intoxicated man. |
| 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 246 Grief must he hide..If he would be *god-loved and conquering still. |
| 1598 Drayton Heroic. Ep. xii. 69 Nor do I boast my *God-made Grandsires skars. |
| 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 336 The *God-opposed world. |
| 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. iii. vii, New Churches, where the true *God-ordained..may find audience, and minister. |
| 1884 ‘Rita’ Vivienne vi. i, One of those *God-sent chances which sometimes befriend us in our hours of peril. |
| 1838 S. Bellamy Betrayal 61 Nor longer tarrieth, *God-sped, and fain His course to finish. 1886 Ruskin Time & Tide 20 The wisely sharp methods of Godsped courage. |
| 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxii. 30 When shone an happier hour than thy *god-speeded arriving? |
| 1676 Cudworth Serm. 1 John ii. 3, 4 (ed. 3) 40 He is a true Christian indeed..that is *God-taught. |
| 1839 Bailey Festus viii. (1848) 91 His *God-vouched inheritance of Heaven. |
| 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 24 Some *god-wrought eagle-wings. |
18. Adjective combinations, as
† God-full,
† God-unlike. Also godful,
godlike.
| 1609 J. Davies Holy Roode F 3 b, Wilt be so God vnlike, to see thy God Embrace the Whip, and thou abhorre the Rod? 1648 Herrick Farewell vnto Poetrie 22 in Hesper. (1869) 440 Those god-full prophets. |
▪ II. god, v. Now
rare.
(
gɒd)
[f. the n.] 1. a. trans. To make into a god, to deify; to worship as a god.
b. quasi-trans. to god it: to play the god.
| 1595 Spenser Col. Clout 810 Iove..taking [Cupid] up to heaven, him godded new. 1606 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. iii. Schisme Argt. 3 Hee, Godding Calves, makes Israel to Sin. 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. iii. 11 This last old man..Lou'd me aboue the measure of a Father, Nay godded me indeed. 1668 Glanvill Plus Ultra (1688) 93 In those days..men Godded their Benefactors. 1871 H. N. Hudson Shaks., Jul. C. Introd., We have Caesar..godding it in the loftiest style..The passage where Cassius mockingly gods Caesar. 1884 Tennyson Becket v. iii, How the good priest gods himself! 1896 F. H. Trench in Daily News 21 Dec. 6/5 Who, by the silent Greeks' immortal main, Gods it on earth against the human cause. |
2. In passive
pple. godded with God, made partaker of the Divine nature, a phrase used by the Familists in the 16–17th c. (
cf. christed).
| 1576 J. Knewstub Serm. in Confutation (1579) S 1 b, For H.N. his Christe was..first man, and after, by his suffering, was Godded with God. 1647 E. Pagitt Heresiogr. (ed. 4) 95 All illuminated Elders are godded with God, or deified. 1656 [see christed]. 1661 E. Pagitt Heresiogr. (ed. 6) 215 There was one Richard Lane, a young man..said..that he was changed into the Divine nature, that he was Christed with Christ and Godded with God and consequently perfect God and perfect man. 1739 J. Trapp Righteous over-m. (1758) 62 Ridiculous jargon of being Godded with God. |
Hence
ˈgodded ppl. a.| a 1616 Beaumont Marr. Yng. Gentlewoman w. Ancient Man Poems (1640) I 1 a, Smooth, as the godded Swan, or Venus Dove. 1675 J. Smith Chr. Relig. Appeal i. 18 While impious Cæsar and his Godded rout spurn [etc.]. |
▪ III. god obs. form of
good.