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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

God:The Definitions of gods


O.E. god "supreme being, deity," from P.Gmc. *guthan (cf. Du. god, Ger. Gott, O.N. guð, Goth. guþ), from PIE *ghut- "that which is invoked" (cf. Skt. huta- "invoked," an epithet of Indra), from root *gheu(e)- "to call, invoke." But some trace it to PIE *ghu-to- "poured," from root *gheu- "to pour, pour a libation" (source of Gk. khein "to pour," khoane "funnel" and khymos "juice;" also in the phrase khute gaia "poured earth," referring to a burial mound). "Given the Greek facts, the Germanic form may have referred in the first instance to the spirit immanent in a burial mound" [Watkins]. Cf. also Zeus. Not related to good. Originally neut. in Gmc., the gender shifted to masc. after the coming of Christianity. O.E. god was probably closer in sense to L. numen. A better word to translate deus might have been P.Gmc. *ansuz, but this was only used of the highest deities in the Gmc. religion, and not of foreign gods, and it was never used of the Christian God. It survives in Eng. mainly in the personal names beginning in Os-.

"I want my lawyer, my tailor, my servants, even my wife to believe in God, because it means that I shall be cheated and robbed and cuckolded less often. ... If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." [Voltaire]

First record of Godawful "terrible" is from 1878; God speed as a parting is from c.1470. God-fearing is attested from 1835. God bless you after someone sneezes is credited to St. Gregory the Great, but the pagan Romans (Absit omen) and Greeks had similar customs.

Look up godhead at Dictionary.com
from god (q.v.) + M.E. -hede, cognate with -hood and Ger. -heit. Along with maidenhead, this is the sole survival of this form of the suffix.

pagoda Look up pagoda at Dictionary.com
1582, from Port. pagode (1516), from a corruption of Pers. butkada, from but "idol" + kada "dwelling." Or perhaps from or infl. by Tamil pagavadi "house belonging to a deity," from Skt. bhagavati "goddess," fem. of bhagavat "blessed, adorable," from *bhagah "good fortune," from PIE base *bhag- "to share out, apportion" (cf. Gk. phagein "to eat;" see -phagous).

demigod Look up demigod at Dictionary.com
1530, from demi- + god, rendering L. semideus. The child of sexual intercourse between a deity and a mortal, a man raised to divine rank, or a minor god.

goddess Look up goddess at Dictionary.com
mid-14c., from god (q.v.) + fem. suffix -esse.

Elohim Look up Elohim at Dictionary.com
a name of God in the Bible, 1605, from Heb., pl. (of majesty?) of Eloh "God," a word of unknown etymology, perhaps an augmentation of El "God," also of unknown origin. Generally taken as singular, the use of this word instead of Yahveh is taken by biblical scholars as an important clue to authorship in the O.T.

Allah Look up Allah at Dictionary.com
1702, Arabic name for the Supreme Being, from Arabic Allahu, contr. of al-Ilahu, from al "the" + Ilah "God," rel. to Heb. Elohim.

the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.

These are but the definitions of the word god and among other other words associated with it. In due time, we shall delve into these things for this is a huge subject. but more specifically,we shall deal with the God of the Jewish and the Christian Bible.


The Secret Name of God note:Yahweh is a transliteration only not real name

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