God

How to spell god

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce god

What does god mean?

1. nounA supernatural being worshipped as having power over nature or human affairs.
2. nounA person or thing treated with excessive devotion or admiration.

God in a sentence

• The ancient Romans built a temple to each god they worshipped.

• To the fans, the striker was a footballing god who could do no wrong.

• The museum exhibit explained how every god in the pantheon ruled a different domain.

• He made money his god and neglected everything else in life.

Where does god come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native Germanic word, recorded in Old English as 'god' with the same spelling we still use. Its precise prehistory is debated, but it is usually traced to a Proto-Germanic form 'gudan', the source also of Dutch 'god' and German 'Gott'. Scholars have proposed two main older roots: one meaning 'that which is invoked or called upon', and another meaning 'that to which sacrifice is poured'; the genuine origin is not settled. Importantly, the word has no connection to the adjective 'good', despite the tempting resemblance, so the spelling has only one 'o'. When English became Christian, the originally neuter, plural-capable word narrowed to name the single supreme being, which is why the capitalised form 'God' is used as a name while the lowercase 'god' keeps the older sense of any deity.

How the word is built

• god (single root, native Old English word; no prefix or suffix)