Earliest attestation of the Germanic word in the 6th century Codex Argenteus (Mt 5:9)

Proto-Germanic meaning

The Proto-Germanic meaning of * and its etymology is uncertain. It is generally agreed that it derives from a Proto-Indo-European neuter passive perfect participle . This form within (late) Proto-Indo-European itself was possibly ambiguous, either derived from a root * "to pour, libate" (Sanskrit , see ), or from a root * (*) "to call, to invoke" (Sanskrit ). Sanskrit hutá = "having been sacrificed", from the verb root hu = "sacrifice", but a smallish shift of meaning could give the meaning "one who sacrifices are made to".

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^[1] opines in the light of Greek "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 ) or "that which is invoked".

Germanic tribes

A significant number of scholars have connected this root with the names of three related Germanic tribes: the Geats, the Goths and the Gutar. These names may be derived from an eponymous chieftain Gaut, who was subsequently deified. He also sometimes appears in early Medieval sagas as a name of Odin or one of his descendants, a former king of the Geats (), an ancestor of the Gutar (), of the Goths () and of the royal line of Wessex (Geats) and as a previous hero of the Goths (). Some variant forms of the name Odin such as the Lombardic show a clear derivation from the cognate Proto-Germanic *.

Translations

The name God was used to represent Greek Theos, Latin Deus in Bible translations, first in the Gothic translation of the New Testament by Ulfilas. For the etymology of , see *.

Greek is unrelated, and of uncertain origin. It is often connected with Latin "holidays", "temple", and also Armenian "gods". Alternative suggestions (e.g. by De Saussure) connect "smoke, spirit", attested in Baltic and Germanic words for "spook," and ultimately cognate with Latin "smoke."

Capitalization

" (and "God" in the heading)">" (and "God" in the heading)" title="KJV of 1611 (Psalms 23:1,2): Occurrence of "" (and "God" in the heading)" class="location-none type-thumb" width="200px" />

KJV of 1611 (Psalms 23:1,2): Occurrence of "" (and "God" in the heading)

• as "Lord "
• as " God"
• as "Lord "
• As " God" (in the New Testament)

The use of capitalization, as for a proper noun, has persisted to disambiguate the concept of a singular God, specifically the Christian God, from pagan deities for which lower case god has continued to be applied, mirroring the use of Latin . Pronouns referring to God are also often capitalized and are traditionally in the masculine gender, i.e. "He", "His" etc.^[2]

See also

See El (god) and YHWH for discussions of the Hebrew names for God.

References

See also

• Names of God

ar:???? (????) pt:Deus (palavra)