godn.int.

Brit.

/ɡɒd/, U.S.

/ɡɑd/

Forms:

α. early Old English go (Mercian, transmission error), early Old English gotho (plural, rare), Old English geode (dative, transmission error), Old English geodes (genitive, transmission error), Old English godedes (genitive, transmission error), Old English (rare) Middle English–1600s godd, Old English–early Middle English goð (perhaps transmission error), Old English–early Middle English (rare) (1600s in representations of Welsh English) cod, Old English– god, late Old English gedes (genitive, transmission error), late Old English gode- (in compounds), late Old English goden (dative, perhaps transmission error), early Middle English ȝod, early Middle English ȝodd, early Middle English got, early Middle English goðð (perhaps transmission error), Middle English godde, late Middle English gottys (genitive), 1500s gos (genitive); chiefly North American (colloquial and regional) 1800s– gahd, 1900s– gaahd; also Scottish pre-1700 godd; also Irish English (Wexford) 1800s gud.

β. Old English (rare) Middle English–1500s good, early Middle English ȝode, Middle English goed, Middle English goid, Middle English gooddes (plural), Middle English guodes (genitive, perhaps transmission error), Middle English–1600s gode, late Middle English goodyse (genitive), late Middle English goyd; U.S. regional 1800s– gord; Scottish pre-1700 goid, pre-1700 1900s– gode, 1800s– goad.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian god, Old Dutch god (Middle Dutch, Dutch god), Old Saxon god (Middle Low German got, (inflected) gōd-, godd-), Old High German got (Middle High German got, German Gott), Old Icelandic guð, goð, Norn (Shetland) go,Old Swedish guþ (Swedish gud), Danish gud (already in early modern Danish), Gothic guþ (usually abbreviated as ḡþ) < a Germanic base of uncertain origin (see note). Further etymology. The further etymology is very uncertain. The underlying Germanic base has been explained as a derivative (with the Germanic base of -ed suffix¹) of the zero-grade of either of two possible Indo-European verbal bases: (i) the (unsuffixed) base of yet v. with the underlying meaning ‘pour’ (used here with reference to poured sacrifices or libations), or (ii) a base with the meaning ‘to invoke’. With (i) perhaps compare Sanskrit huta poured in sacrifice, sacrificed and the similarly-formed (or perhaps cognate) ancient Greek χυτός poured (out), fluid. The base of (ii) is apparently reflected by Sanskrit hū- to invoke (a god) (ablaut variant of hve- to call, summon; compare also puru-hūta , lit. ‘much-invoked’ or ‘invoked by many’, epithet of Indra), Old Irish guth voice, Old Church Slavonic zŭvati to call out, invite, name; this interpretation has often been favoured, but it poses phonological problems. Compare also Gaulish gutu- (in gutuater priest), Lithuanian žavėti to charm, practise magic, which may derive in a similar way from either of these Indo-European bases. Inflection in Old English; variation in gender. In Old English both a strong masculine and a strong neuter (the difference in gender apparently being to some extent semantically motivated: see below); a weak genitive plural form godena (Northumbrian godana ) is also occasionally attested, but the word does not otherwise show weak inflection. The Germanic word was apparently originally strong neuter (a -stem), and it has been hypothesized that the change in gender to strong masculine (a -stem) was a direct consequence of its adoption by the Church as a Christian term, in order to distinguish the personal Judaeo-Christian God from the impersonal pagan gods. The inflectional history of the word in the various Germanic languages appears to show a pattern in which the (original) neuter gender tends to be associated with the pagan gods, while the (later) masculine gender is associated with the Judaeo-Christian God. Gothic guþ (plural guda ) preserves the endings of a strong neuter noun, although it has masculine grammatical agreement (except when referring to the pagan gods). Old Icelandic guð (also goð ) can be both neuter and masculine (the nominative form without -r shows its neuter origin, while the plural forms are respectively unchanged (neuter) and with masculine endings -ar , -ir ); it is generally neuter when used of the pagan gods, and masculine when used of the Judaeo-Christian God (in later Icelandic there is semantic differentiation of the phonological variants, with goð (neuter) applied only to the pagan gods, and guð (masculine) reserved for the Judaeo-Christian God). In West Germanic the word is usually strong masculine; Old English god is regularly masculine with reference to the Judaeo-Christian God, and either masculine or neuter when used in the plural (respectively godas and godu ) with reference to the pagan gods; Old High German got is usually masculine even when referring to the latter (masculine plural gota ; however compare the compound helligot (neuter plural), lit. ‘gods of hell’, translating Latin mānēs manes n.). See further D. H. Green Lang. & Hist. Early Germanic World (1998) 14–16. With the use of a neuter noun to denote pagan gods compare classical Latin nūmen (see numen n.). Use in names. The base is a common element in Germanic personal names, compare e.g. Old English Godgifu , Godrīc , Godwine , Old High German Gotafrid , Gotahilt , Old Icelandic Guðmundr , Guðrún , Goðormr , Burgundian Godemund , Gothic (Ostrogothic) Guduin . Form history and euphemistic variation. In Old English the word is often collocated with the formally identical but etymologically unrelated word gōd good adj., good n., and the two words are not always easy to distinguish (compare discussion at good adj., n., adv., and int.). Rare occurrences of the form good in Old English (see β. forms) may result from confusion of this kind. The association of the two words continues in later English, sometimes leading to the deliberate euphemistic substitution of forms of good n. for god n. (frequently in oaths); such substitution is found in several modern regional varieties, especially in Scots (compare good n. 3). It is nevertheless likely that the majority of Middle English (and later) β. forms show a genuine lengthening of the stem vowel, probably arising originally from open syllable lengthening in oblique (disyllabic) forms; pronunciations reflecting the lengthened form gode are attested in modern English regional and nonstandard use, e.g. J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. (1905) 464/1 records the pronunciation /ɡoːd/ from east Devon. (The suggestion made in N.E.D. (1900) that the motivation for lengthening may perhaps have been expressive, i.e. ‘from a desire to utter the name of God more deliberately than the short vowel naturally allows’, is unlikely.) A later (early modern English) lengthening is shown by Gawd n. The modern Scots forms goad, gode at β. forms probably represent the half-close realization of short ŏ typical of many varieties of Scots. From Middle English onwards, especially in oaths (see Phrases 3a, Phrases 3b), the word is subject to extensive euphemistic alteration and substitution (a preference for forms and pronunciations originally regional or nonstandard); compare e.g. ad n.², cock n.⁶, Cod n.⁴, cops int., cots n., Cuds n., dod n.¹ and int., Gad n.², gar int., Ged n.², Gog n.¹, goles n., golly int., gom n.³, gosh n., gosse n.¹, gud n., gum n.⁵, od n.¹ and int., Ud n., Uds n. Likewise, in oaths sometimes (especially until the 19th cent.) written with dashes representing suppressed letters, so as to avoid the charge of taking God's name in vain. In Jewish contexts often written G-d , in imitation of the non-vocalized spelling of the name of the Jewish God in Hebrew, and in recognition of the prohibition against pronouncing it (compare discussion at Jehovah n.). Modern capitalization patterns for this word (compare notes at A. 1a and A. II.) only became well established during the 18th cent. Other words for ‘god’. For an alternative early word for a (pre-Christian) god compare Old English ōs and its Germanic and Indo-European cognates discussed at Aesir n. With branch A. II. compare (in Judaism) Adonai n., Elohim n., Jehovah n., and (in Islam) Allah n.

A. n.

I. In uses relating to polytheism, and senses derived from this.

a. A superhuman person regarded as having power over nature and human fortunes; a god (use in the singular usually refers to a being regarded as male (cf. goddess n.), but in the plural frequently used to refer to male and female beings collectively). Chiefly applied to the divinities of polytheistic systems; when applied to the Supreme Being of monotheistic belief, this sense becomes more or less modified: see sense A. 6b.In its application to the objects of polytheistic worship, the word often receives a colouring derived from the predominant monotheistic uses, and is apprehended as a transferred use, ‘a god’ being regarded as a supposed being put in the place of God, or an imperfect conception of God.This sense has been affected by the pagan uses of Latin deus and Greek θεός, of which god is the usual translation. Thus, in Greek mythology, the gods are distinguished from the daemons 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 human. The analogy of this nomenclature is often followed in speaking of existing polytheistic religions.The word is now normally written with a small initial, but when the point of view of the worshipper is to any extent adopted, a capital is sometimes used.Frequently as the second element in appositive compounds, as boy-, bull-, fish-, monkey-, warrior-god, or in compounds of which the first element indicates the sphere of activity or patronage, as fire-, household, nature, sky-, thunder-, wine-god: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun]

godeOE

deityc1374

higher powerc1384

princec1384

divinityc1386

governorc1400

powerc1425

numen1495

fear1535

heaven1554

godheada1586

godhood1586

landlorda1635

supreme1643

supercelestial1652

supernal1661

universality1681

father1820

unspeakable1843

Molimo1861

Mlimo1897

superperson1907

somebody up there1972

sky fairy1997

eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xcv. 5 Quoniam omnes dii gentium daemonia : forðon alle godas ðioda ðioful.

OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 98 Ge habbað manega godas and manega gydena [L. multorum deorum dearumque], we soðlice wurðian ænne soðne god.

OE Ælfric Homily: De Falsis Diis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 708 Þar wæs gehende an hæþen tempel, gehalgod þam gode þe wæs gehaten Apollo.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2695 Æðes we sulleð þe swerien..uppen ure godd [c1300 Otho god]..þe is icliped Dagon.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 299 Fogous [MS Fogronis]..ordeyned temples to worschip þe false goddes ynne; þerfore he was acounted a god amonge hem þat worschipped suche goddes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 780 (MED) Als godds suld ȝee seluen be.

a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 7357 (MED) When þe kyng herde hym nemne a God, He asked þenne how þey trowd.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 125 Our hegh goddes Wold be wrothe at our werkes.

?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 71 They conteyne the wicked actes and whoredomes of the Goddes.

1588 T. Hariot Briefe Rep. Virginia sig. E2^v They beleeue that there are many Gods which they call Montoac, but of different sortes and degrees.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 115 That's a braue God, and beares Celestiall liquor.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1176 By combat to decide whose god is God, Thine or whom I with Israel's Sons adore.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 141 Audacious Youth, what madness cou'd provoke A Mortal Man t' invade a sleeping God ?

1713 A. Pope in Guardian 10 June 488 A Poet should never call upon the Gods for their Assistance, but when he is in great Perplexity.

1752 E. Young Brothers i. i, in Wks. (1757) II. 212 I do not think at all; The gods impose, the gods inflict, my thoughts.

1841 M. Elphinstone Hist. India I. ii. iv. 205 Some changes are made by the Jáins in the rank and circumstances of the Hindú gods.

1842 T. B. Macaulay Horatius in Lays Anc. Rome 47 Lars Porsena of Clusium By the Nine Gods he swore That [etc.].

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 300 Surely no man this is, But some god weary of the heavenly bliss.

1903 Smart Set 9 114/2 Oh, dear Sahiba, the gods are very wise and terrible!

1966 E. Amadi Concubine iv. 18 Igwe could not collect these things and to ward off the wrath of the gods the villagers ejected him from the village.

2011 C. Lemoy Across Pacific 169 Human sacrifices were necessary to calm the angered gods.

b. With postmodifying of-phrase or (now archaic) premodifying genitive indicating the department of nature, or human activity or passion, over which a particular god is thought to rule.In this use the reference, unless there is indication to the contrary, is usually to classical mythology, the gods 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 or Ares. the god of love: Cupid or Eros. the god of wine: Bacchus.

ΚΠ

eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 323 Nec Bachus, ne wines god.

eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 205 Vlcanus, fyr oððe fyres god, hellesmiþ.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 124 O thou Cupide, O thou Venus, Thou god of love, and thou goddesse, Wher is pite?

1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 161 A God of batylle, mars.

1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 9^v Apollo god of learninge.

1590 E. Spenser Muiopotmos 315 The God of Seas..strikes the rockes with his three-forked mace.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) i. i. 281 Plutus the God of Gold Is but his Steward: no meede but he repayes Seuen-fold aboue it selfe.

1641 T. Heywood Life of Merlin xxx. 291 But warres god By sword, nor Hermes with his charming rod Shall ought prevaile.

1656 A. Cowley Pindarique Odes 38 in Poems Apollo is not onely the God of Physick, but of Poetry, and all kinde of Florid Letters.

1731 C. Coffey & J. Mottley Devil to Pay i. ii. 11 Come, jolly Bacchus, God of Wine, Crown this Night with Pleasure.

1789 W. H. Brown Power of Sympathy i. 11 Hail gentle God of Love! Encircled as thou art with darts, torments, and ensigns of cruelty, still do we hail thee.

1807 J. Barlow Columbiad ii. 89 Hail us children of the God of day.

1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche i. xiv. 6 Her comely boy, The limber scion of the God of War.

1912 E. Pound tr. G. Cavalcanti Sonnets & Ballate 117 Meseemed love's god connived at its completeness.

1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist v. 264 Thoth, the god of writers, writing with a reed upon a tablet.

1951 Speculum 26 43 So strong is his desire for this little ‘primerole’ that he readily swears homage to the God of Love.

1958 C. Achebe Things fall Apart iii. 14 I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku, the god of yams.

2005 Delicious Nov. (Flavours of India Suppl.) 4/3 On the first night of Diwali, Yama, the god of death, is welcomed with a solitary flame.

c. Prefixed (without article) to the name of a god. Also: prefixed to the name of a person likened to a god (rare).

ΚΠ

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 43 (MED) Sche..lygh and seide þat god Mars hadde i-brouȝt hir wiþ childe [L. a Marte se gravidatam esse mentita est].

c1450 J. Metham Palmistry (Garrett) in Wks. (1916) 84 Thales Mylesyes..be the ansqwere off god Appollo, fyrst dyd wryte the syens off cyromancy in the langage of Parce.

1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 216 A monstir maid be god [1568 grit] Mercurius.

1565 B. Googe tr. ‘M. Palingenius’ Zodiake of Life (new ed.) x. sig. LL.vi God Pluto then tell me quoth I why syste thou here so sad?

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. iii. 130 Like god Bels priests in the old church window.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 169 Yet god Achilles still cries excellent.

1694 M. Tindal Let. conc. Trinity & Athanasian Creed ix. 32/2 You as much distinguish God the Father from God the Son, or God the Spirit, as ever they did God Jupiter from God Neptune, or God Pluto.

1712 E. Ward Quack-vintners 22 Nor can God Bacchus to the World commend A better Vintner, or a truer Friend.

1841 H. D. Thoreau Let. 8 Sept. in Lett. Var. Persons (1879) 7 I, who am going to be a pencil-maker to-morrow, can sympathize with God Apollo, who served King Admetus for a while on earth.

1914 Amer. Catholic Q. Rev. Apr. 289 ‘How great art thou, O god Apollo!’ he cried.

1991 M. S. Screech tr. M. de Montaigne Essays ii. ii. 385 To drink in the French style at both meals, but moderately for fear of your health, is too great a restraint on the indulgence of god Bacchus.

2. An image or object (as a plant or an animal) worshipped as symbolizing or constituting the visible habitation of a divinity or as itself possessing divine power; an idol.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > idol

godeOE

anlikenessOE

stockc1000

mammetc1225

Mahometc1275

Mahoundc1275

idola1325

simulacre1382

marmoseta1398

mammetrya1400

puppet1534

poppet?1548

block1570

Dagona1572

pagoda1582

pagody1588

Mokisso1634

poppet deitya1641

pageant idol1696

pageant thing1696

afgod1769

cult figure1895

eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) Introd. x. 28 Ne wyrc ðe gyldne godas oððe sylfrene.

OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) xii. 228 Þæt wæs dioflum sylfum, for þon þe hie hira godu hæfdon geworhte of treowum & of stanum & of oðrum untimbrum missenlicum.

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) xx. 4 Ne wyrc ðu ðe agrafene godas.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3541 He seiden to aaraon, ‘Mac vs godes foren us to gon’.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxi. 30 Why hast þou stolne my goddis?

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 2344 Hyre fadrys goddys..Off gold & siluyr..Cristyn brak on pecys..And made off hem a distrybucioun To all þat come.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Exod. xxxiv. 17 Thou shalt make y^e no goddes of metall.

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 315 Some Temples..furnisht with wooden gods for politheisme.

1697 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ I. i. xix. 98 The Consecration also of new Gods.

1744 A. Pope Epist. to Several Persons iv. 76 Statues, dirty Gods and Coins.

1794 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 364/2 A copper God dwells in that temple of gold.

1838 T. Arnold Hist. Rome I. i. 1 They remembered to carry their gods with them, who were to receive their worship in a happier land.

1884 Ballou's Monthly Mag. Feb. 167/2 The huge stone god bellowed forth its low rumbling roar.

1941 Harper's Mag. Jan. 142/1 No more wooden gods, no more morais (temples)—all are destroyed.

1958 J. Barth End of Road v. 66 Her expression..was that of the Athenians on the morning they discovered that Alcibiades had gelded every marble god in town.

1998 L. Forbes Bombay Ice (1999) 100 The clay rain god that had been wedged into the elbow of a branch in Dad's garden.

3. In extended use.

a. An adored, admired, or supremely powerful person.opera, rock, sex god: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > Christian love > (of persons) as objects of adoration

godeOE

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [noun] > person

godeOE

society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful person > exercising god-like power

godeOE

vice-god1600

Olympian1869

eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxvi. 503 Ac swa swa manna goodnes hi ahefð ofer ða menniscan gecynd to ðon þæt hi bioð godas genemde [read genemnede], swa eac hiora [yfelnes a]wirpð hi under þa mennis[can gec]ynd to þon þæt hio bioð yfle [gehat]ene.

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) vii. 1 Drihten cwæð to Moyse: Nu ic gesette þe Pharaone to Gode [L. constitui te Deum Pharaonis].

OE Ælfric Homily: De Falsis Diis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 681 Þa hæþenan..fengon to wurðianne mislice entas and men him to godum, þa þe mihtige wæron on woruldlicum geþincðum, and egefulle on life.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3496 Blæðgabreat..cuðen al þeos songes. & þat gleo of ilcche londe..swa þat al þis mon-cun..seiden þat he wes god [c1300 Otho king] of alle gleo-cræften.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 31 Bledgaret passede alle his predecessoures in musik and in melodie, so þat he was i-cleped god of glee men [L. deus joculatorum].

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 1 Yf these goddes of the Earth would suffer me to enioy suche happinesse.

1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 32 Some there are that make gods of soldiers in open warrs.

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. i. 156 Sweare by thy glorious selfe, Which art the God of my Idolatrie.

a1635 R. Sibbes Learned Comm. 2 Cor. i. (1655) 71 A man is a God to a man when he comforts; when he discomforts, and directs, and withdrawes, he is a divell to a man.

1692 S. Johnson Argument Abrogation King James 29 Such an Usurper is a God upon Earth, which it is easie for some sort of Men to make.

1716 R. Blackmore Ess. upon Several Subj. 173 Thus he makes Men of his Beasts, and Gods of his Men, and Men of his Gods.

1797 M. G. Lewis tr. F. Schiller Minister iv. iv. 141 The damsel belongs to me! to me, who was once her god; to me, who am now her devil!

1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 52 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.

1907 Observer 10 Mar. 10/2 Was not a great Cardiff football god the hero of the match?

1997 Vanity Fair July 120/1 He [sc. Ed Sullivan] was the God of Sunday Night.

2005 N.Y. Times Mag. 2 Oct. 118/2 I wanted to meet Garth. He was the god of the business, the guy you wanted to be.

b. An adored or worshipped object; something exercising great or supreme influence.In early use, chiefly with reference to the belly, after Philippians 3:19 ‘whose God is their belly’.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > power > [noun] > that which has absolute power

godOE

OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) vii. 135 And gemunað Iudeas þe hira lif eall hyra wambe to forlore forgeafon. Be ðam wæs cweden þæt hyra wamb wære hyra god.

c1225 (?OE) Soul's Addr. to Body (Worcester) (Fragm. D) l. 36 For þin wombe was þin god.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 248 Þe glotoun and þe to moche nimere of metes makeþ of hare womben hare god, ase zayþ zaynte paul.

?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 154 Þus þai make þaire godd of þaire wambe, so þat na worthyness ne doghtyness þai vse.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. xv. sig. Rr1 Like a man whose will was his God, and his hand his law.

1640 J. Fletcher & J. Shirley Night-walker i. sig. B3 The old mans god, his gold, has wonne upon her.

1664 E. Gearle Three Country-Mens Eng. Answers 12 We were resolved to go to Prison, rather then to uphold or maintain his belly (which is his God).

1756 tr. C. Goldoni Pamela i. 39 Money is not my god.

1788 H. Cowley Fate of Sparta ii. i. 22 It is not glory, nor the hope of fame The mercenary feels—his God is plunder.

1852 F. W. Robertson Expos. Lect. Epist. Cor. (1859) xlvii. 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.

1906 C. Mansfield Girl & Gods xix. 222 Self is their god and Selfishness their religion.

1994 P. Baker Blood Posse v. 61 Style was his god. His suede Pumas and sharkskin pants were the joint.

2005 Alcalde (Univ. Texas) Nov.–Dec. 45/2 I think the great god of quantification and standardization is really problematical.

4. In plural.

a. Theatre. The occupants of the seats in the highest part of the auditorium; that part of the audience occupying the gallery. Also (rare) in singular. Cf. gallery god n., gallery goddess n. at gallery n. Compounds 1d.In quot. 1752 with punning allusion to an episode in Homer's Iliad, set on Olympus, home of the Greek gods.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > theatre-going > theatregoer > [noun] > theatre audience > occupants of specific seat or place > collectively

gallery1649

box1677

side-box1685

gods1752

stall1901

1752 B. Thornton Adventurer No. 3. 18 The servant whose business it is, as Homer says, ‘To shake the regions of the gods with laughter’.

1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London II. v. 108 The high regions assigned to that part of the audience called the ‘gods’, namely, the galleries.

1843 W. M. Thackeray Irish Sketch-bk. I. xii. 227 One young god, between the acts, favoured the public with a song.

1885 Manch. Examiner 4 May 5/3 The wrath of the pittites and the gods was appeased.

1897 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 1 May 471/1 These people would not, like the shilling god, expect the drama to be written down to them.

1913 Punch 23 Apr. 322/1 The warriors I prefer to hymn Are products of this peaceful age Who, with a courage truly grim, Have scaled the boards and stormed the stage. Here facing fearful ‘gods’ each day, They hold the fort from hour to hour.

2008 S. K. Sagala Buffalo Bill on Stage vii. 124 Regardless how the gods cheered, the critics would fill their columns with personal judgments.

b. colloquial (originally Theatre). With the. The seats above the dress circle in a theatre; the gallery. Now also: the upper tier of seats in a stadium. Frequently in in the gods.

ΚΠ

1900 N.Y. Times 7 Oct. 16/6 Then, perhaps, they would have more thought and consideration for the poor playgoer who goes up in the ‘gods’.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. 441 He said that he had seen from the gods my peerless globes as I sat in a box of the Theatre Royal.

1982 H. Rosenthal My Mad World of Opera ii. 13 It was a wonderful experience to be downstairs instead of in the gods.

2013 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 19 Sept. (Sport section) 70 Celtic's support was stretched out across the highest tier, way up there in the gods.

II. In uses relating to monotheism, and senses derived from this. (Now usually with initial capital.)

5. Especially in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: the Supreme Being, regarded as the creator and ruler of the universe.

a. Treated as a proper name.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun]

the Most HigheOE

highesteOE

alwaldendOE

drightinOE

godOE

King of kingsOE

heavenOE

lordOE

sky?1518

gossea1556

beingc1600

deity1647

Master of the Universe1765

Morimo1824

Molimo1861

Gawd1877

big guy1925

Modimo1958

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > name of > God as name

godOE

godhead1357

OE Beowulf (2008) 930 A mæg God wyrcan wunder æfter wundre.

OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) i. 1 On angynne gesceop God [L. Deus] heofonan & eorðan.

OE tr. Theodulf of Orleans Capitula (Bodl.) xxix. 351 God, milde beo þu me synfullum.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 623 Godess enngell gabriæl. Comm dun o godess hallfe. I godess hus. wiþþ godess word.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 15 Þis beoð godes word þe god seolf idihte.

?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 37 (MED) God leue þe so to speke þat tou in none worde his heste ne tobreke.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1061 Rightwis he was, and godds freind.

c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Interp. & Virtues Mass l. 275 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 99 When a man offreth to God hys herte, Rychest oblacion.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. clxii. 199 The lorde Chandos sayd to the prince..this iourney is yours: God is this day in your handes.

1562 Certayn Serm. preached in Lincs. in H. Latimer 27 Serm. ii. f. 127^v Thou must be sorie for it in thy hearte, and aske god forgiuenes.

c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) i. 129 God is an Essence intellectuall, A perfect Substance incorporeall.

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxxi. 191 God; in which is contained Father, King, and Lord.

1737 R. Challoner Catholick Christian Instructed ii. 8 A likely Set of Men for bringing back God's Truth..who, so far from having any Orders or Mission, had not so much as Baptism.

1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 388 God, the All-gracious, the All-good, the All-bountiful, the All-mighty, the All-merciful God.

1774 F. Asbury Jrnl. 28 Nov. (1821) I. 133 I do not sufficiently love God, nor live by faith in the suburbs of heaven.

1810 S. Green Reformist I. 186 I did not think that London was yet such a sink of depravity, as to openly serve God and Satan on the same day.

1877 E. R. Conder Basis of 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.

1902 Perry Mag. Oct. 74/1 Come to prayer, come to adore, God is Great!

1956 W. H. Nes Excellency of Word ii. 59 Man cannot rest until he sees God.

2012 Daily Tel. 24 Feb. 22/2 Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each copy with deep reverence.

b. With an additional title or epithet. Frequently prefixed to the designations of the Persons of the Trinity, as God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost.Almighty God, Lord God: see the first element. See also God almighty n., int., adv., and adj.

ΚΠ

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John i. 1 In principio erat uerbum et uerbum erat apud deum : in fruma uæs uord & uord þæt is Godes sunu uæs mið God feder.

OE Maxims I 75 An sceal inbindan forstes fetre felameahtig God.

OE St. Mary of Egypt (Julius) (2002) 102 Sy þu gebletsod, Drihten God.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13080 Crist iss an. I kinde..Allwældennd godd wiþþ haliȝ gast. & wiþþ hiss faderr baþe.

c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) l. 103 Weilawei, ihesu godd, hwuch unwurðe chaffere!

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 99 Godessone hit made to god þe uader ine worde. God þe holy gost þet is þet me acseþ.

c1425 (c1400) Prymer (Cambr.) (1895) 47 God, fadir of heuene... God þe son... God þe holi gost, haue merci of us!

c1440 (?c1350) in G. G. Perry Relig. Pieces in Prose & Verse (1914) 48 Powere es appropirde to Godd þe Fadir and wisdom to Godd þe Sonne and gudnes to Godd þe Haly Gaste.

1534 W. Marshall tr. Erasmus Playne & Godly Expos. Commune Crede f. 23 I beleue in God the father almyghty vnuysyble and vnpassyble.

1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry f. 86 And God the holy Ghost, the soule of man doth winne, By mouing her to waile for grace, ashamed of her sinne.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. i. 311 But all-good God..Forbad vs touch that Tree on paine to die.

1645 G. Gillespie Nihil Respondes 11 That which were a dishonour to God the Son, were a dishonour to God the holy Ghost.

1720 D. Waterland 8 Serm. Divinity of Christ 175 Upon this Occasion,..it pleased God, in the most solemn and pompous Manner to proclaim the high Dignity of God the Son.

1845 G. S. Faber Eight Diss. I. i. iii. 36 God the Father..economically declares his high behests through the medium of the Word.

a1879 F. R. Havergal Life Echoes (1883) 7 The Love of God the Father,..Be yours aboundingly, I pray, For this and every coming day.

1957 J. Bishop Day Christ Died (1959) 203 As God the son, he is equal to and commingled with the Father.

2003 R. Lacey Street Bible 428 The offer of an open door to Father God.

†c. Used (without qualifying words) for: Jesus. Obsolete except as implied in Mother of God at mother n.¹ 2a and some phrases at Phrases 3b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Son or Christ > [noun]

soneOE

godOE

son of manOE

Abraham's seedOE

King of kingsOE

Christ almightyOE

ChristOE

JesusOE

lordOE

Our LordOE

Jesus Christc1175

Christ Jesusc1330

second personc1380

holiesta1400

Son of Goda1425

Man of Sorrows1577

OE Cynewulf Elene 687 Ic þæt geswerige þurh sunu meotodes, þone ahangnan God.

OE Ælfric Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 357 Þæt is swyðe god spell, þurh Godes tocyme us to gehyrenne þæt we habban moton þa heofonlican wununge mid him sylfum æfre.

OE Homily: Ded. Church (Tiber. C.i) in P. Clemoes Anglo-Saxons (1959) 274 On cyricean wyrð gegæderod cristen folc..to underfonne godes flæsc and godes blod.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 105 Ha..beoreð godes rode.

?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) l. 630 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II. 296 Therinne wes closed a nail gret That ede thurh godes fet.

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1062 By god þ^t for vs deyde.

a1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 500 And þan he receyves God gostly.

a1500 (?a1475) Guy of Warwick (Cambr. Ff.2.38) l. 1 (MED) Sythe þe tyme þat god was borne..Mane aventewres hathe befalle.

1609 I. D. Confession Christian Relig. 18 As God redeemed the world by his blood, the God of glory was crucified.

6. A being such as is understood by the name ‘God’; a sole divine creator and ruler of the universe.

a. As a general concept.

ΚΠ

OE St. Eustace (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 190 Ac se mildheorta and se welwillenda God [L. benignus deus], þe simle æghwær to him þa þe him wurðe beoð gecygð, ne forseah his godan weorc.

OE Ælfric Homily: De Falsis Diis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 695 Ic wille þæt min folc on eallum minum rice anmodlice buge to Daniheles Gode [L. Deum Danihelis].

OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xiii. 1 Se unrihtwisa cwyð on his mode, ‘Nis nan God [L. non est deus] þe þis wite oððe wræce’.

a1450 (?c1405) in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 29 Þey wene no god þer nys..Or elles, a-noþer heresy þere is.

1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) i. sig. Aiij^v/2 How be it that this dyuyne essence..maye not be perfyghtly knowen..yet there is not eny mortall persone. hauynge the vse of dyscrecyon. but that he woll confesse there is a god.

1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. C.viii^v A God there is, that guyds the Globe, and framde the fyckle Spheare.

1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. v. 889 To Believe a God, is to Believe the Existence of all Possible Good and Perfection in the Universe.

1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 161 Happy the man, who sees a God employ'd In all the good and ill that checker life!

1799 S. T. Coleridge Lines in Album in Morning Post 17 Sept. The God who fram'd Mankind to be one mighty family.

1872 Radical Apr. 251 Against the assertion of the Christian theologian that a God understood would be no God at all is set the protest of the Christian sentimentalist that a God not understood is no God at all.

1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith Pref. 12 Is there a God? Is there an Infinite, All-wise, All-powerful Spirit?

1951 W. H. Auden Nones (1952) 11 Unable To conceive a god whose temper-tantrums are moral.

2009 N. Cave Death Bunny Munro (2010) viii. 68 Whoever said that there isn't a God is full of shit!

b. As opposed to the gods of other faiths (with partial reversion to the general sense: see sense A. 1).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > being such as

godOE

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) x. 17 Drihten sylf is goda God [L. Deus deorum], mære God & mihtig.

OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxxxv. 2 Ic andette þam þe ece is ealra godena god.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. viii. 4 We witen, for an ydol is no thing in the world, and that ther is no God but oon.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 91 (MED) Þere is no god but on, & Machomete his messager.

1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. i. f. 8 Euen thys is it, to make a shadowishe God, to driue farre away the true God whome we ought to feare and worshyp.

1685 J. Jackson et al. Annot. Holy Bible II. sig. 4A3/1 They set up Puppets and Idols of their own devising, in the room of the true God.

1786 F. Gladwin tr. Epitome Mohammedan Law 7 I call him an Islamite, who, on being questioned in the grave, beareth witness that there is no God but God.

1827 W. Scott Life Napoleon IV. iii. 85 ‘There is no God but God, and Mahommed is his prophet’. A confession of faith which is in itself a declaration of Islamism.

1868 J. B. Lightfoot Epist. Philippians (1873) 94 He determined to overthrow the worship of the one true God.

1911 ‘M. Field’ Messiah i. i, in Accuser 158 The Muéddin: God is great, there is no God but God.

1939 A. Toynbee Study of Hist. VI. 44 The One True God whose alter ego Allāh was now proclaimed to be.

1999 R. M. Hannula Trial & Triumph xii. 77 His mother told him about the one true God who reigns on high.

c. Chiefly with of. Such a being as associated with or embodying a particular quality (as the God of love, the God of mercy, the God of vengeance, etc.) or sphere of life or action (as the God of nature, the God of revelation, the God of providence), or as conceived of in a specified religion or system of thought (as the God of philosophy, the God of pantheism, the God of Judaism).Lord God of Hosts: see host n.¹ 3b.

ΚΠ

OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 13 Pacem habete, et deus dilectionis et pacis erit uobiscum : gie sibb habbað & god lufsumnis' & sibbes bið iuih mið.

c1175 (?OE) Instr. for Christians 27 in Anglia (1964) 82 12 Lytle hwile on þissere leana dagum witena eanig winnað for Criste, and eft swa ðeah in ecnesse gewunað in wuldre mid weroda Godd.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. xiii. 11 Haue ȝe pees, and God of pees and loue [L. deus dilectionis et pacis] schal be with ȝou.

a1425 (a1400) Northern Pauline Epist. (1916) Rom. xv. 5 Alle thynges þat ben writen..in holy bokys..god of pacience and of solace [L. Deus autem patientiae et solacii] gife ȝou to sauere þat same.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rom. xv. 5 The God of pacience and consolacion.

1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. iii. 54 Who the guide of nature but only the God of nature?

1608 S. Hieron Helpe vnto Deuotion 88 O Eternall God, the God of prouidence, the orderer and the disposer of all things.

1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. ii. 3 The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) v. ii On Thee, O God of Purity, I wait for hallowing Grace.

1756 tr. F. X. de Oliveira Pathetic Disc. Calamities Portugal 3 He is, also, the God of Strength, the God of Vengeance.

1785 T. Lindsey Exam. Plea Divinity Jesus Christ ix. 153 To return to and acknowlege the God of nature, and the God of revelation, Jehovah.

1796 tr. J. B. Duvoisin Exam. Princ. French Revol. viii. 65 The God of Christianity is more present to the mind and the heart than the God of philosophy.

1813 W. Hurn Psalms & Hymns 283 The God of truth his church has bless'd.

1827 J. Keble Christian Year II. xcv. 172 O God of Mercy, God of Might.

1852 O. W. Wight tr. V. Cousin Course Hist. Mod. Philos. I. i. 117 I could accumulate quite as many passages against the God of pantheism.

1905 Year Bk. Central Conf. Amer. Rabbis 15 90 In the same degree as the God of Judaism differs from all other deities.

1960 Life 25 Apr. 125/3 (advt.) Perhaps this..must involve a relationship with a God of truth—and of love, of mercy, of justice.

2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 4 Oct. 27/4 And should the God of love and mercy be given credit for the anopheles mosquito, the schistosomiasis parasite, anthrax, smallpox, bubonic plague?

B. int.

Expressing strong feeling, esp. dismay, disgust, exasperation, or anxiety. Cf. earlier oh God, my God, etc., at Phrases 1e(a).

ΚΠ

1898 H. Macfall Wooings Jezebel Pettyfer xxxiii. 341 Gahd! it are kind o' skeery here.

1898 Argosy June 510 It's their lives or ours. God! I hope Ericsson is on the kee vee.

1912 R. Brooke Old Vicarage Grantchester (1916) 10 God! I will pack, and take a train, And get me to England once again!

1914 L. Woolf Wise Virgins xvi. 321 God! what a fool I've been.

1938 K. O'Brien Pray for Wanderer ix. 264 God! Was he taking leave of his senses?

1986 D. Potter Singing Detective v. 201 God! They all think they can write, don't they?

2011 S. Tyler & D. Dalton Does Noise in my Head bother You? iv. 121 Oh, fuck! Not this song again! God! Let's go snort some blow!

Phrases

P1. Exclamatory and parenthetic phrases expressing feeling or desire.

a. Phrases expressing dependence upon or grateful recognition of God's providence.

(a) by (also with, through) God's grace. Also by (also with, through) God's help, by (also with, through) God's assistance, by (also with, through) God's blessing, etc. [After post-classical Latin gratia Dei by the grace of god (see grace of God n.), auxiliante Deo God helping (8th cent. in a British source), and similar phrases.]

ΚΠ

eOE (Kentish) Charter: Lufu to Christ Church, Canterbury (Sawyer 1197) in F. E. Harmer Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 7 Ic Ceolnoð mid Godes gefe ercebiscop mid Cristes rode tacne ðis festnie.

OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Oxf.) Prol. 4 Swa eac Paulus þurh his mæran bodunge him sylfan nanes lofes ne tilade.., ðus cweþende: ‘Þurh Godes gife [L. Gratia Dei] ic eom þæt þæt ic eom.’

OE Charter: Bp. Oswald to Wulfgar (Sawyer 1327) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1893) III. 532 Ic on him be Godes bletsunga & be ure ægþer ge wuda ge on felda swa his boc him wisaþ.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 35 Of hire we willeð sumdæl keðen be godes grace.

c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 412 (MED) Y nam no truant, be godes grace!

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 37 Forsothe, sere, be goddys grace I xal me kepe from all trespace.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 124 I sall, with Goddis grace, Keip his command.

1539 Bk. Ceremonies in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. ii. App. cix. 287 Then followeth the offertory, wherby we be learned to prepare our selves by Gods grace to be an acceptable oblation to him.

1622 R. Sanderson Two Serm. Boston i. 5 I shall by Gods assistance proceed..to enquire how farre the differences..agree with the present case.

1647 T. May Hist. Parl. ii. iv. 74 The most necessary effectual Means, through God's blessing, of removing those Iealousies and Differences.

1662 Bk. Common Prayer Catechism Yes verily; and by Gods help so I will.

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. li. 255 She has a poor opinion of the purity she compliments me with, if she thinks, that I am not, by God's grace, above temptation from this sex.

1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 123 With God's assistance, I shall take care that my tail shall never rise up in judgment against me.

1828 Christian Jrnl. Aug. 225/2 They will have acquired that, for which they will, through God's grace, thank you.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 19 Here, by God's grace, is the one voice for me.

1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xx. 197 It was only by God's blessing that we were neither of us sun-smitten.

1935 T. S. Eliot Murder in Cathedral i. 22 Rebellious bishops..would have intercepted our letters... By God's grace aware of their prevision I sent my letters on another day.

1987 A. Djoleto Hurricane of Dust vii. 36 This is Ghana, but I'm still alive by God's grace.

2001 J. Boyle Galloway Street 216 I'll be away to Ameriky soon with God's help, and I'll have a big public house in Boston or Chicago, maybe.

(b) thank God (also † God thank: see thank n. 4a). Also God be thanked, God be praised ( praise God, praised be God), † loved be God (cf. love v.² 1a), etc. [After post-classical Latin Deo gratias, lit. ‘thanks to God’ (10th cent. as interjection), and similar phrases; compare Anglo-Norman merci Deu, Deu merci and Middle French Dieu merci, interjections (12th cent.). Compare Middle Dutch gotdanc, godanc, interjection (Dutch goddank).]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > gratitude > [adverb] > thanking divine providence

God-thankc888

God be thanked1600

thank God1753

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) Pref. 9 Uncuð hu longe ðær swæ gelærede biscepas sien, swæ swæ nu Gode ðonc wel hwær siendon.

OE tr. Abbo of St. Germain Sermo in Cena Domini (Corpus Cambr. 190) in D. Bethurum Homilies of Wulfstan (1957) 372 And ge, Gode þanc, nu todæg beoð eft underfangene on cyrcan swylce into neorxnawange for eowre behreowsunge.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 11 (MED) Unbileue..is aiware aleid and rihte leue arered, godeðonc.

c1300 St. Mary of Egypt (Laud) l. 175 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 266 I-blessed be god þat bringueth þe soule bote.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2005 Þus wolde þe theues me haue reft, But god-þank, he hauenet sure keft.

a1425 (c1333–52) L. Minot Poems (1914) 3 Bot, loued be God, þe pride es slaked Of þam [etc.].

a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxii. §2. 398 Louyd be god fra this tyme of grace, that now is, whils this warldis standis, & withouten end.

c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xciii. 303 Syr, thanked be god we haue vaynquysshed the Emperoure.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 183 You breake iests as braggards do their blades, which God be thanked hurt not.

1607 Merrie Iests George Peele 12 The fellowe told him God be praised his good Landlord was well recouered.

1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ ii. i. 1 Thanke God I..am recovering and picking up my crummes apace.

1668 in A. Agnew Hist. Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway (1864) 372 I Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw Knyht Barronett, being, praised be God, in health and perfect memories.

1753 Scots Mag. July 320/2 Most of the landholders have now, thank God! abandoned that..religion.

1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xvi. 103 ‘Is not Madame Duval then with you?’ ‘With me! No,—thank God.’

1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clare in Poems (new ed.) II. 196 ‘O God be thank'd!’ said Alice the nurse, ‘That all comes round so just and fair.’

1888 W. H. H. Murray Doom of Mamelons i. 11 God be praised that I reckoned the course aright.

1898 H. Macfall Wooings Jezebel Pettyfer xxxi. 329 ‘Thank Gahd!’ she muttered, ‘the Lord have delivered she into my hands.’

1916 J. Buchan Greenmantle xxii. 305 Oh, god be thanked, it's our friends!

1963 E. Hyams New Statesman vii. 116 It is not, thank God, in the English character to face the fact that a man is a dismal failure and kick him out.

1986 B. Fussell I hear Amer. Cooking iii. xii. 210 I have made them perforce hours ahead and they were still, praise God, delicious.

1991 R. Davies Murther & Walking Spirits ii. xxi. 89 God be praised, Anna has made it!

(c) under God: as a secondary cause; as a secondary object of gratitude; with God's permission.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > second to God

under God1314

1314 ( Royal Charter: William I to Bp. Herman, Beorhtwig, Scewine, & all his Thegns in Dorset in D. Bates Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum (1998) 112 Ic cyðe eow ðæt se abbod æt Abbodesbyrig & ða gebroþra & ða land & ða men & æle [read ælc] ðara ðinga ðæt ðe hyrþ in to sancte Petres mynstre to Abbodesbirig ðæt hit ys eall on minne munde & on minan fullan gehealde under God, swa full & swa forþ swa hit ðeder in furþ Orc leg on Eadwardes dæge kyneges mines meges.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 619 O. Influences of þise heuenes hye. Soth is þat vnder god ye ben oure hierdes.

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Love in W. W. Skeat Chaucerian & Other Pieces (1897) 43 We men..arn a fayr parcel of the erthe and holden the upperest degree, under god, of benigne thinges.

1570 J. Kello Confessioun sig. A.vi^v I desyre nathing mair vnder God then to be separate fra the contagioun of this wickit flesche.

1607 Merrie Iests George Peele 10 Yet, quoth he, vnder God, I will doe him some good.

1619 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 170 The blessedness of this good work, under God, is to be attributed to the king alone.

1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 23 He..thank'd me that had, under God, given him and so many miserable Creatures their Lives.

1777 H. H. Brackenridge Death Gen. Montgomery i. i. 14 Thus, under God, we haply may succeed.

1867 Amer. Q. Church Rev. Jan. 568 Every soul, under God, is to interpret Scripture for itself.

1944 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 30 Apr. (1995) 76 Probable under God that we shall meet again, ‘in hale and in unity’, before very long.

1985 Third Way Apr. 13/2 One of its [sc. Government's] functions is, under God, to restrain evil.

2006 M. Novak & J. Novak Washington's God vi. 114 He felt deep within himself the pull, under God, of America's universal mission.

(d)

(i) if (also †and) God will. Also †will God, (regional) an Gothill, a Goddil.and God will was formerly sometimes used as an ironic apology. [After post-classical Latin Deo volente, lit. ‘God willing’ (see Deo volente n. and compare God willing at Phrases 1a(d)(ii)).]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > subject to outside forces [phrase]

if (also and) God willc1300

will God1488

please the pigs1683

Deo volente1767

inshallah1857

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > God willing

if (also and) God willc1300

God willing1438

will God1488

Deo volente1767

D.V.1843

c1300 St. Julian Hospitable (Laud) l. 76 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 258 Ȝif god wole [a1325 Corpus Cambr. Ȝif Crist wole], þe ȝwyle we a-liue beoth, ne schulle we departi atwo.

c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 1540 (MED) I wil do bi þe, ȝif god wil.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 770 Will god I sall eschape this tresoune fals.

1542 T. Becon Newe Pathway vnto Praier xlvi. sig. R.ij^v Monstures, Monckes I woulde haue sayd, & other religious parsons, and God wyll as they desyre to be called.

1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 46 Ise feend tea a Maister a goddil.

1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Gothill, An Gothill, if God will... ‘In Gothill I'll be there’.

1893 J. Rhoades Teresa 23 You hear The guest knock loud for entrance; and anon The host will open, and to no mean fare Of iron entertainment, if God will, Give him such welcome as may pierce his heart.

1911 E. Nesbit Ballads & Verses of Spiritual Life 72 Bear up, my mother, yet a little while, And we shall see each other, if God will.

1994 Jet 4 July 46/2 Holyfield said his retirement soon might end. ‘If God will, I will,’ he added.

(ii) God willing.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > God willing

if (also and) God willc1300

God willing1438

will God1488

Deo volente1767

D.V.1843

1438 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 67 Jhone Stewart,..God wylland, sall haff to wyff..Margaret off Mongomry.

1507 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 77 The said Richerd sall, God willing, mend and reforme the stepill forsaid ennowe, and vteucht sufficiently and substanciusly in ale thingis as efferis.

1526 T. Wolsey in State Papers Henry VIII (1830) I. 184 The said realme may yet, God willing, be preserved and releved.

1588 ‘M. Marprelate’ Oh read ouer D. Iohn Bridges: Epist. 30 Naye (quoth Penrie) neuer so long as I liue godwilling.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 187 What so poore a man as Hamlet is, May doe t'expresse his loue..God willing shall not lack.

c1688 H. Herbert in R. Warner Epistolary Curiosities (1818) 1st Ser. 72 We both intend, God willing, to set forward for London on Munday next.

1706 W. Wycherley Let. to Pope in Pope's Lett. (1735) 25 Afterwards to spend two Months (God willing) with you, at Binfield.

1776 L. Carter Diary 26 Apr. (1965) II. 1027 This night I shall, god willing, part with my under waistcoat.

1835 J. W. Carlyle Lett. I. 25 Next year, God willing, I shall see you all again.

1880 Ld. Tennyson Ballads & Other Poems 119 The swine, lay-men, lay-women, who will come, God willing, to outlearn the filthy friar.

1944 C. Beaton Diary in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) xiv. 140 Tomorrow, God willing, is our last day of truck travel after banging over 700 miles in this old crock.

2010 New Yorker 2 Aug. 55/1 We love it here. God willing, I'll die here. God willing, not too soon.

†(e) (and) God before (also tofore): under God's guidance. Obsolete. [Compare Godbefore in earlier use as the name of a ship (1338). Compare also Middle French Dieu devant, Dieu avant (a1393).]

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > with God's help

(and) God before (also tofore)a1413

with God to friend1590

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 1042 And dredles yf þat my lyf may laste And god to-forn, lo som of hem shal smerte.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7196 They shal neuere haue that myght And god to forne for strif to [perh. read ne] fight That they ne shal ynough fynde That petres lawe shal haue in mynde.

?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 14 Diuerse exsaumples, the whiche, and God before, ye shall take hede of.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 128 For god before we tende & purpose to gyue bataylle to the Sawdan.

1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Pardoner & Frere sig. B.iv I wyll neuer come hether more Whyle I lyue and god before.

1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia iii. E 4 b Els (god to fore) my selfe may liue to see His tired corse lye toyling in his blood.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V i. ii. 307 For God before, weell check the Dolphin at his fathers doore.

1607 M. Drayton Legend Cromwel 36 For in my skill his sound recouerie lies, Doubt not thereof if setting God before.

(f) with God to friend: with God's help or protection. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > with God's help

(and) God before (also tofore)a1413

with God to friend1590

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A7 So forward on his way (with God to frend) He passed forth.

1823 W. Tennant Cardinal Beaton iv. i. 97 Accuser, I, with God to friend, appeal From this convention.

1874 A. C. Swinburne Bothwell iii. i. 248 Your heart of hope is great; with God to friend, A man could speed no better than your hope.

1901 D. Ainslie John of Damascus ii. 108 With the young, new god to friend all golden-haired prosperities may on my kingdom come again.

b. In earnest appeals or exhortations, as for (also †fore) God's love, for God's sake (also for God sake, for Godsake, for God's sakes), in (also †a, †o', †on) God's name. for the love of God: see love n.¹ Phrases 1a(a). on God's half: see half n. Phrases 1b(c). [With in (also †a, †o', †on) God's name compare Anglo-Norman a nun deu in similar use (first half of the 14th cent. or earlier).]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > [phrase] > earnest expressions

for (also fore) God's loveeOE

for the love of GodeOE

for God's sakec1386

for (also of) all lovesa1400

for love's sakea1400

in (also a, o', on) God's namea1400

of all lovea1400

for pity1484

for pity's sake1484

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. iii. 266 Ic þa la halsie & bidde fore Godes lufan [L. obsecro], þæt þu me gesecge hwæt se song wære.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) Pref. 2 Nu bidde ic and halsige on godes naman gif hwa ðas boc awritan wylle, þæt he hi geornlice gerihte.

?a1300 Fox & Wolf l. 36 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 26 Be stille, ich hote, a godes nome!

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8968 Madame he sede uor godes loue is þis wel ido Þat þou þes vnclene limes handlest.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4798 Ga we alle, In godds nam.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 4800 I ȝou pray for goddes sake.

c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 854 What wel come be the Cut in goddes name.

1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. K viij These a Gods name wear their targettes again the shot of our small artillerie.

1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 15 For God sake let not my tutor know it.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 252 But what a Gods name doth become of this?

1612 B. Jonson Alchemist v. iii. sig. L4 For Gods sake, when will her Grace be at leasure?

1650 A. Weldon Court & Char. King James 103 For God's sake, tel me, said the King.

1706 J. Stevens tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote (ed. 2) II. lxx. 408 Sleep o'God's Name..if thy Twitching, Pinching, and Pin-pricking will give thee leave.

1735 A. Pope Prol. to Satires in Wks. II. 101 Hold! for God-sake—you'll offend.

1799 C. B. Brown Ormond x. 108 What, in God's name, did she want with him at that hour? Could she not wait, at least, till he had done his supper?

1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 173 For God's love, a little air!

1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 28 For God's sake,..let it be at once.

1883 R. L. Gilchrist Apples of Sodom vi. 60 For God's sakes what is the matter?

1955 E. Hillary High Adventure 175 For God's sake, Charles, keep an eye on John!

1995 I. Banks Whit (1996) xiv. 234 Well, then, God's sakes, Isis!.. All the more reason to tell Salvador to take a hike!

2004 A. Levy Small Island ii. 22 Gilbert, what in God's name have you done?

c. Phrases expressive of a strong wish, chiefly for the benefit or injury of some person.

(a) With God as subject followed by a verb in the subjunctive.God bless, forbid, forfend, give, help, preserve, save, send, shield, speed, etc.: see the verbs. God rest you merry: see rest v.¹ Phrases 3b. God give you good day, good even, etc.: see the noun phrases.In such phrases as have remained current, God is often omitted, as bless you, damn you, preserve us (see the verbs).

(i) Miscellaneous uses.

ΚΠ

OE Scribble (Tiber. B.v) in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 255 God me helpe.

OE Ælfric Let. to Wulfsige (Corpus Cambr.) in B. Fehr Die Hirtenbriefe Ælfrics (1914) 34 God geunne eow, þæt ge hit moton swa aredigan, swa eower þearf sy.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 1066 Syððon comen ealle dræuednysse & ealle ifele to þone mynstre. God hit gemyltse!

c1240 ( Writ of Edward the Confessor, Wells (Sawyer 1115) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Bath & Wells (2007) 231 And gyf anig man syg þat mine gyfe awendan wyllen, awende hine God almihgti fram his ansyne & fram ælre cristenne manna.

1389 in C. Innes Liber Sancte Marie de Melros (1837) 449 Dauid kyng qwhilom of Scotland, that god assoillie.

1447 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 68 Oure progenitouris of noble mynde quham God assoille.

c1480 (a1400) St. Theodora l. 201 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 105 God þe forȝelde, & fra wikyt forton þe schelde.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xiii. l. 708 God grant that thai..maynteyme the land, And hald the folk weill to warrand.

c1525 J. Rastell New Commodye Propertes of Women sig. Aiv God reward the for thy gentyll intendyng.

1612 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) I. 194 God keep them from base courses!

1649 Declar. Proc. Parl. Scotl. 3 God grant, that every good Christian may give his helping hand for the subverting the same.

1775 R. Challoner in E. H. Burton Life Bp. Challoner (1909) II. xxviii. 116 God reward the good Lady, our benefactrix.

1824 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. II. xiii. 245 I wear an habitual sneer upon my face, God confound them for it!

1948 M. McLaverty in Irish Writing 4 37 But God grant he'd return to her in better form!

2010 J. O'Connor Ghost Light (2011) vii. 107 God keep your innocence, Miss. That it might always be your blessing.

(ii) God be with (also †mid) you: used as an expression of good wishes on parting. Cf. goodbye int. 1. Also as n.In quot. c1300 in the subscription of a charter.

ΚΠ

c1300 ( Royal Charter: William I to Bp. Æðelmær, Earl Ralph, & all his Thegns in Norfolk & Suffolk in D. Bates Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum (1998) 197 God be mid ihu.

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. ccccxxix/1 Thys poure man departyng and sayeng god be wyth you and at your helpe.

1573 W. Smith XII. Mery Iests vii. sig. D.iiii Then farewel honycombe til I se you againe, God be with you, and shield you from the raine.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 45 While then, God be with you .

1637 T. Heywood Royall King iv God be with you good Captaine.

1797 T. Holcroft Adventures Hugh Trevor IV. v. 38 His parting reply was, ‘God be with you, wherever you go! Perhaps you may see me again sooner than you think for.’

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. viii. 180 A profusion of farewells and god-be-with-you's.

1868 Times 20 Oct. 4/5 As each railful of communicants quitted the Communion-table..he used to address to them..‘God be with you, my children’.

1936 M. R. Anand Coolie iv. 188 Go through there as if you were an ordinary person. God be with you.

1976 Ebony Jr. Mar. 39/2 When the time came for him to leave, his mother gave him a blessing and said, ‘God be with you’.

2005 J. M. Coetzee Slow Man xvi. 121 She has said her goodbyes, goodbyes are over with. Goodbye: God be with you.

(iii) God damn (a person or thing) (also goddam, goddamn): expressing condemnation of, or anger or frustration towards (a person or thing). Cf. damn v. 6, goddam int., Goddammit int.Earliest in God damn me int.

ΚΠ

1596 J. Harington Apol. sig. Mvi God damne me if I loue them not, I feare more to be damned for louing them too well.

1680 T. Blood Narr. conc. Design against Duke Buckingham 3 Is that the Blood that stole the Crown? God damn him, we will have nothing to do with him, for he is a great Friend of the Duke of Buckingham's.

1697 D. Defoe Ess. Projects 242 Go among the Gamesters, and there nothing is more frequent than, God damn the Dice, or God damn the Bowls.

1794 J. Kirkpatrick Libel before Presbytery of Kirkcudbright 4 You..most wickedly and obscenely expressed yourself in the following words..God damn Lady Hannay.

1861 A. G. Frick Let. 14 Feb. in H. Holzer Dear Mr. Lincoln (1993) x. 341 Abe Lincoln..goddam you.

1864 Cincinnati Enquirer 4 Mar. 2/5 God damn you, I led this whole thing.

1938 ‘C. S. Forester’ Ship of Line 51 God damn and blast all you hamfisted yokels.

1964 J. Thompson Pop. 1280 xiii. 71 Goddam him to hell, anyway!

1993 J. Mowry Six out Seven i. xi. 162 God damn that dogfuckin ole peckerwood bastard!

(b) In forms with the verb (and sometimes other elements) abbreviated or altered.See also goodbye n., int., and adj.

†(i) With omission (or alteration) of give, in customary expressions of good wishes on meeting or parting, as God you good day, God you good even (also God dig-you-den, goddiggonden, goddy-godden, Godge you good even, Godgigoden, Godigoden), God you good morn, God you good morrow (also Godyegudmora, Godge you God morrow), God you good night. Cf. give v. 3b, 17. Obsolete.Cf. also good day n. 1, good even n. 1, good morn int., good morrow n. 1, goodnight n. 1.

ΚΠ

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 4319 Gif ȝe be King, God ȝow gude day.

1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 636 The Thane of Caldar, Schir, God ȝow gude morne!

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. ii. 57 Godgigoden, I pray sir can you read.

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iii. 102 Nur: God ye goodmorrow Gentlemen. Mer: God ye good den faire Gentlewoman. Nur: Is it godyegooden I pray you. Mer: Tis no lesse I assure you, for the baudie hand of the diall is euen now vpon the pricke of noone.

1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 42 God dig-you-den al.

1605 S. Rowley When you see Me sig. D2 Godyegodnight and twentie syr.

1611 G. Chapman May-day i. 8 Godge you God morrow Sir, godge you God morrow.

1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre i. iv. 7 in Wks. II By your leaue, Gentlemen, with all my heart to you: and god you good morrow.

1640 N. Richards Trag. Messallina iv. sig. E5^v Godge godden I'le come agen anon.

1651 T. Randolph et al. Hey for Honesty iv. iii. 33/2 Goddy-godden, good father: pray which is the house where Plutus lives.

1671 tr. A. H. de Mendoza To love only for Love Sake ii. 64 Zel. Yow (th'unkent Knight) Godyegudmora! Fel. (The Time of day thou dost mistake).

(ii) With contraction of save (cf. save v. Phrases 2c), as †Gods me, †Gods my bones, Gods my life, etc. Cf. God sa' me at sa' v. Now archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection]

whatOE

well, wellOE

avoyc1300

ouc1300

ay1340

lorda1393

ahaa1400

hillaa1400

whannowc1450

wow1513

why?1520

heydaya1529

ah1538

ah me!a1547

fore me!a1547

o me!a1547

what the (also a) goodyear1570

precious coals1576

Lord have mercy (on us)1581

good heavens1588

whau1589

coads1590

ay me!1591

my stars!a1593

Gods me1595

law1598

Godso1600

to go out1600

coads-nigs1608

for mercy!a1616

good stars!1615

mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616

gramercy1617

goodness1623

what next?1662

mon Dieu1665

heugh1668

criminy1681

Lawd1696

the dickens1697

(God, etc.) bless my heart1704

alackaday1705

(for) mercy's sake!1707

my1707

deuce1710

gracious1712

goodly and gracious1713

my word1722

my stars and garters!1758

lawka1774

losha1779

Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784

great guns!1795

mein Gott1795

Dear me!1805

fancy1813

well, I'm sure!1815

massy1817

Dear, dear!1818

to get off1818

laws1824

Mamma mia1824

by crikey1826

wisha1826

alleleu1829

crackey1830

Madonna mia1830

indeed1834

to go on1835

snakes1839

Jerusalem1840

sapristi1840

oh my days1841

tear and ages1841

what (why, etc.) in time?1844

sakes alive!1846

gee willikers1847

to get away1847

well, to be sure!1847

gee1851

Great Scott1852

holy mackerel!1855

doggone1857

lawsy1868

my wig(s)!1871

gee whiz1872

crimes1874

yoicks1881

Christmas1882

hully gee1895

'ullo1895

my hat!1899

good (also great) grief!1900

strike me pink!1902

oo-er1909

what do you know?1909

cripes1910

coo1911

zowiec1913

can you tie that?1918

hot diggety1924

yeow1924

ziggety1924

stone (or stiffen) the crows1930

hullo1931

tiens1932

whammo1932

po po po1936

how about that?1939

hallo1942

brother1945

tie that!1948

surprise1953

wowee1963

yikes1971

never1974

to sod off1976

whee1978

mercy1986

yipes1989

1570 T. North tr. A. F. Doni Morall Philos. iii. f. 62 But hearest thou me, Gods my bones not a word for thy life [no direct equivalent in It. original].

1595 G. Peele Old Wiues Tale sig. B^v Gods me bones who comes here?

1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 201 Gods my life! Stolne hence, and left mee a sleepe.

1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iii. iv. sig. G4^v God's my life; did you euer heare the like?

1605 G. Chapman Al Fooles iii. i. E 3 b Gods my deare soule, what sudden change is here!

1606 J. Day Ile of Guls sig. D4 Godsme, my mothers stealing of a nap.

1607 T. Heywood Woman Kilde with Kindnesse sig. F^v Gods me: no such dispatch.

1640 tr. G. S. du Verdier Love & Armes Greeke Princes ii. 191 Gods me, said Trasiclea.

1950 W. Graham Jeremy Poldark i. iii. 48 ‘God's my life,’ said Francis. ‘What a pesky wind. One is blown down this alley like a pea down a pipe.’

1992 P. O'Brian Truelove (1993) iv. 112 God's my life, Stephen, you absolutely turned a somersault.

†(iii) God dild, God dylde, God eyld, God ild, goddilge: God yield (you, him, etc.): see yield v. 7a. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Ei Baily. God blesse you gammer Gurton. Gammer. God dylde you master mine.

1579 G. Harvey Let. to Spenser in Wks. (1884) 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.

1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Huntington Libr. copy) sig. L3 No forsooth God dild you hee would not that hee would.

1608 G. Chapman Conspiracie Duke of Byron v. (ad fin.) Marry God dild him.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vi. 13 How you shall bid God-eyld vs for your paines.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Hamlet (1623) iv. v. 41 How do ye, pretty Lady? Ophe. Well, God dil'd [1603 yeeld] you.

d. In phrases referring to God's omniscience.

(a) God (†it) wot: God knows. Cf. goddot int. [Compare Dutch godeweet (interjection) truly; compare also early use as a surname: Thomas Godwot (1328), John Godwot (1371).]

†(i) Used with an indirect question to imply that something is unknown to the speaker, and probably to any other human being. Obsolete.In quot. OE as God āna wāt: ‘God alone knows’.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [phrase] > expressing lack of knowledge

God wotOE

God or Crist witec1175

Lord knows1614

Heaven knowsa1628

the stars know what (also how, etc.)1760

OE Fortunes of Men 8 God ana wat hwæt him weaxendum winter bringað.

a1400 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 263 (MED) Deȝe we ssulin sikerliche, bot god wot wanne & were.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. l. 586 Oft failȝeis the fulis thocht And wys mennys etling Cummys nocht ay to that ending That thai think it sall cum to For God wate weill quhat is to do.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 765 Sent, no man wist whether, to be done wyth, God wot what.

1646 G. Buck Hist. Life Richard III iii. 85 Their bodies were bestowed God wot where.

(ii) Used to emphasize the truth of a statement. Now archaic (chiefly in echoes of quot. 1893).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adverb] > as emphasis

God (it) wot?c1225

goddot?a1289

sooth to sayc1330

truth (also sooth) to tella1375

honestly1819

honest Indian1854

truthfully1854

honest Injun1857

on the level1872

straight1874

honest1876

square dinkum1888

no kidding1901

straight-up1963

OE St. Mary of Egypt (Julius) (2002) 84 God wat þæt ic heora forhtige.]

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 93 God hit wat þe put deð muche god. moni ancre.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2527 Þer-of held he wel his oth, For he it made, god it woth.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 4473 God wat..I sal vndo þe wele þi sueuen.

a1529 J. Skelton Colyn Cloute (?1545) sig. A.vii Than renne they in euery stede God wot with dronken nolles.

1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 61 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 263 He went fra hame god wait on weddinsday.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Richard III (1623) ii. iii. 18 Stood the State so? No, no, good friends, God wot [1597 not so].

a1617 P. Baynes Comm. Ephes. (1643) i. 214 Commonly the most Christians are counted good men godwot, but simple soules, of no parts.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 157 God wot, his shield is blank enough.

1893 T. E. Brown My Garden in Old John & Other Poems 177 A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!

1905 A. C. Swinburne Poems III. 134 For all my subtle wiles, perdie, God wot I loved him well enow.

1938 K. A. Porter Let. 21 Nov. (1990) 168 A provincial Rotary-club-minded University is a fearsome spot, God wot.

1996 Church Times 19 Jan. 11/1 The idea that a bishop is an awesome thing God wot.

(b) God knows. [Compare post-classical Latin novit Deus (14th cent. in British sources).]

(i) Used to emphasize the truth of a statement.

ΚΠ

a1485 H. Baradoun in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 289 In the courte, is many noble Roome; But god knowith, I can noon soche cacche.

a1555 N. Ridley in M. Coverdale Certain Lett. Martyrs (1564) 77 It is impossible to set forth..al y^t was (God knoweth) tumultuously spoken.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) v. i. 230 The Chaine, Which God he knowes, I saw not.

1664 S. Pepys Diary 25 Nov. (1971) V. 330 God knows, this is only a scare to the Parliament, to make them give the more money.

1752 C. Lennox Female Quixote I. ii. xi. 156 God knows I never thought of such a Thing!

1788 R. Burns Let. 21 Jan. (2001) I. 215 Lately I was a sixpenny private; and, God knows, a miserable soldier enough.

1805 E. Cavanagh Let. 4 Oct. in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 185 An Army, God knows, might live unknownst in the House!

1915 H. James Let. 23–24 Mar. in H. James & E. Wharton Lett. (1990) vi. 331 The money is, God knows, assistingly spendable here!

1930 W. S. Maugham Breadwinner ii. 101 God knows, it's been an uphill job, but I've done my best.

2008 Independent 1 Apr. 3/2 We are not prudes, God knows, and we have no problem with vigorous language, where appropriate.

(ii) Used with an indirect question (frequently with anaphoric reference) to imply that something is unknown to the speaker, and probably to any other human being.

ΚΠ

1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere Pref. sig. Bb.i^v And what wyll ferther come theron god knoweth.

1548 F. Bryan tr. A. de Guevara Dispraise Life Courtier xv. sig. L.ii God knowes what suche libertie costeth them.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 98 The sayd John was had after in great suspicion, whether iustly or vniustly God knoweth.

1584 A. Munday Watch-woord to Eng. f. 13 Priuilie thus murdered, their bodies cast God knowes where.

1595 G. Aleyn Let. 21 Sept. in G. Ungerer Spaniard in Eliz. Eng. (1976) II. 42 Promising to send him the reste God knowes when.

1659 Maze 85 They may inherit, true; but God knowes when.

1665 A. Cowley Let. 21 May in S. Johnson Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets (1779) I. 35 What this signifies, or may come to in time, God knows.

a1708 T. Ward England's Reformation (1710) i. 86 His Soul departed, God knows where.

1793 C. Smith Old Manor House II. xi. 255 God knows what will become of your unhappy brother.

1877 19th Cent. Nov. 582 [The sisters] now forlornly resident in the house of a merchant banker in Bucharest..—outraged by God knows what ruffiandom of uncounted Bulgarians.

1899 E. Robins Open Question xxxvi. 522 ‘You who wanted to go to China and Persia, and God knows where!’ ‘Well, I am going—God knows where.’

1920 S. Lewis Main St. iv. 50 These suffragettes and God knows what all buttinskis there are that are trying to tell a business man how to run his business.

1940 ‘N. Shute’ Landfall 198 ‘How long have they been doing this?’ ‘God knows. We've only just cottoned on to it.’

2005 D. Nicholls Understudy 193 He wears these annoying aviator sunglasses all the time... God knows why.

(iii) With a verbless indirect question forming a phrase denoting an unknown person, thing, or place.

ΚΠ

1801 Monthly Mag. May 356/1 Forming God knows what, and consisting of God knows whom!

1822 Ld. Byron Werner iv. i. 51 The country..Is over-run with—God knows who.

1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IX lxvii. 38 They fell in love;—She with his face, His grace, his God-knows-what.

1939 N. Monsarrat This is Schoolroom i. 35 A crusade against God-knows-what which would finish up God-knew-where.

1971 K. Tynan Let. 21 May (1994) vii. 493 I look yearningly at the phone and realise that you are out at the ballet with God knows whom.

2004 Washington Post 23 Sept. (Home ed.) c7/3 Tips garnered from God-knows-where by a partisan wack job in Texas.

(a) In the vocative with an interjection or modifier, used to express strong feeling, esp. astonishment or dismay, as ah God, oh God, my God, good God, etc.Cf. sense B., migod int., omigod int.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > passion > expression of strong feeling [interjection]

oh God1340

oh1533

good Godc1595

arrah1703

my God1812

oh my days1841

the mind > emotion > excitement > exclamation of excitement [interjection]

oh God1340

good Godc1595

woo-hoo1697

my God1812

whee1920

cowabunga1954

yipes1955

phwoar?1976

yahoo1976

wahey1979

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 92 (MED) A god, hou hi byeþ foles!

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 127 Ye holy god quod she what þyng is that.

1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. avi Hevinly god said the heynd how happynis this thing.

1573 New Custome ii. iii. sig. C iv^v Preciouse God it frettes mee to the very gall.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxviii. 125 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 110 And yet (good god) how ofte this crooked kind Incenst him in the desert euery where?

1607 T. Heywood Woman Kilde with Kindnesse sig. B3^v O God: a surgion there.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) ii. v. 61 Who's this? Oh God! It is my Fathers face.

1741 E. F. Haywood Anti-Pamela 229 Good God! cry'd he, what a Fiend must this be under an Angel's Form!

1795 S. T. Coleridge Lett. (1895) 148 O God! that such a mind should fall in love with that low, dirty, gutter-grubbing trull, Worldly Prudence!

1812 T. Amyot Some Acct. Life W. Windham I. 134 In which the words, ‘My God!’ had been made use of on a light occasion.

1856 Ld. Tennyson Maud (rev. ed.) xv, in Maud & Other Poems (new ed.) 8 Ah God, as he used to rave.

1894 Midland Monthly Mar. 252 My God, but she looks old!

1926 J. M. March Wild Party (1928) ii. i. 35 My god, Queenie; you're looking swell!

1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xviii. 252 You haven't seen the fellow! Valet! Good God, one would as lief employ a coal heaver!

1953 D. Thomas Let. 28 July (1987) 907 Dear God, we'd better not become any better friends.

1992 R. Harris Fatherland iii. 148 God in heaven, can you imagine what the foreign press would make of this?

2006 D. Trussoni Falling through Earth (2007) xiii. 240 Yikes! Yikes! O my God!

†(b) In phrases intensifying a wish or aspiration. Chiefly Scottish in God gif, God nor: would to God that. Cf. give v. 3b, nor conj.³ 2. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox, Wolf, & Cadger l. 2121 in Poems (1981) 81 Than said the vollf, ‘Nou God nor that I hang!’

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 197 God gif ȝe war Iohne Thomsounis man.

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 1325 God nor my trewker mence ane ledder.

1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxii. 50 O monstrous bird! God nor ye gleddis ȝe [= thee] get.

1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 737 Greit God! gif I war now..Vpon the mure.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 307 O God that I were a man.

1608 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1876) I. 296 In saying: God nor he be brunt in the playing place as Mergrat Park wes.

a1713 A. Pitcairne Assembly (1722) ii. i. 24 God nor the D'ill blaw me i' the Air.

(c) would God: see will v.¹ Phrases 3. (I) would to God: see will v.¹ 4a.

†f. God pays (also God to pay): expressing indifference to the consequences of one's action. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > indifference > [phrase] > expression of indifference

what reck?a1513

a foutre for1600

God pays1605

san fairy ann1919

for all I care1934

so what?1934

(I, etc.) couldn't care less1946

see if I care1947

(I, etc.) could care less1966

1605 London Prodigall 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 Epigrammes xii, in Wks. I. 772 His onely answere is to all, god payes.

a1637 B. Jonson Masque of Owles 133 in Wks. (1640) III Whom since they have shipt away: And left him God to pay.

P2. In other phrases referring to a single Supreme Being.

a. to go to God.

(a) To die and go to heaven. Also to depart to God. In early use also †to fere (or i-wite) to God. Cf. to pass to God at pass v. 6a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]

forsweltc888

sweltc888

adeadeOE

deadc950

wendeOE

i-wite971

starveOE

witea1000

forfereOE

forthfareOE

forworthc1000

to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE

queleOE

fallOE

to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE

to shed (one's own) blood?a1100

diec1135

endc1175

farec1175

to give up the ghostc1175

letc1200

aswelta1250

leavea1250

to-sweltc1275

to-worthc1275

to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290

finea1300

spilla1300

part?1316

to leese one's life-daysa1325

to nim the way of deathc1325

to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330

flit1340

trance1340

determinec1374

disperisha1382

to go the way of all the eartha1382

to be gathered to one's fathers1382

miscarryc1387

shut1390

goa1393

to die upa1400

expirea1400

fleea1400

to pass awaya1400

to seek out of lifea1400–50

to sye hethena1400

tinea1400

trespass14..

espirec1430

to end one's days?a1439

decease1439

to go away?a1450

ungoc1450

unlivec1450

to change one's lifea1470

vade1495

depart1501

to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513

to decease this world1515

to go over?1520

jet1530

vade1530

to go westa1532

to pick over the perch1532

galpa1535

to die the death1535

to depart to God1548

to go home1561

mort1568

inlaikc1575

shuffle1576

finish1578

to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587

relent1587

unbreathe1589

transpass1592

to lose one's breath1596

to make a die (of it)1611

to go offa1616

fail1623

to go out1635

to peak over the percha1641

exita1652

drop1654

to knock offa1657

to kick upa1658

to pay nature her due1657

ghost1666

to march off1693

to die off1697

pike1697

to drop off1699

tip (over) the perch1699

to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703

sink1718

vent1718

to launch into eternity1719

to join the majority1721

demise1727

to pack off1735

to slip one's cable1751

turf1763

to move off1764

to pop off the hooks1764

to hop off1797

to pass on1805

to go to glory1814

sough1816

to hand in one's accounts1817

to slip one's breatha1819

croak1819

to slip one's wind1819

stiffen1820

weed1824

buy1825

to drop short1826

to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839

to get one's (also the) call1839

to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840

to unreeve one's lifeline1840

to step out1844

to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845

to hand in one's checks1845

to go off the handle1848

to go under1848

succumb1849

to turn one's toes up1851

to peg out1852

walk1858

snuff1864

to go or be up the flume1865

to pass outc1867

to cash in one's chips1870

to go (also pass over) to the majority1883

to cash in1884

to cop it1884

snuff1885

to belly up1886

perch1886

to kick the bucket1889

off1890

to knock over1892

to pass over1897

to stop one1901

to pass in1904

to hand in one's marble1911

the silver cord is loosed1911

pip1913

to cross over1915

conk1917

to check out1921

to kick off1921

to pack up1925

to step off1926

to take the ferry1928

peg1931

to meet one's Maker1933

to kiss off1935

to crease it1959

zonk1968

cark1977

to cark it1979

to take a dirt nap1981

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxii. 277 Se cyning Eglippus leofode his lif on eawfæstre drohtnunge, and on fulre ylde ferde to Gode.

OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 330 He awrat his godspell on Achaian lande, and gewat to Gode mid ðam halgan gaste afylled, ða þa he wæs on ylde feower and hundeahtatig geara.

c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 134 Seynt Edward was gone oute of þis worlde, & was gone to God.

1468 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) I. 97 (MED) My ffadyr is gone to God also..my modyr on Saterday by the morne, and my ffadyr on Munday by [d]ayrove.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. ciiii Thomas duke of Excester, late departed to God.

1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1339/1 Tone gone to God,..still reigning tother.

1642 Times Alterations (single sheet) Windeb. What is become of the great Lord Deputy? Finch. Faith, the report goes that he is gon to God without a head.

1784 London Mag. May 405/1 Mother will have one mouth less to feed when I go to God Almighty.

1849 C. Brontë Let. 4 June (2000) II. 216 Her quiet—Christian death did not rend my heart as Emily's stern, simple, undemonstrative end did—I let Anne go to God and felt He had a right to her.

1874 P. de Rivières Holy Places i. vii. 67 Hardly are the Lawgiver and his brother in sight of the grand panorama.., when their souls depart to God.

1976 W. Stegner Spectator Bird i. iii. 38 Maybe, in her piety and wretchedness, she had insisted on seeing her husband go to God.

2003 Church Times 20 June 32/4 Our little district nurse now gone to God.

†(b) Law. Of a cause, trial, etc.: to be dismissed from court indefinitely. Obsolete. [After Anglo-Norman and Law French aler a dieu (late 13th cent. or earlier).]

ΚΠ

1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Kk3^v/1 Goe, is vsed sometime in a speciall signification in our common lawe: as to go to God, is to be dismissed the court. [Hence in later dictionaries.]

b. with God: dead, deceased; in heaven. In early use also †mid God.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > dead person or the dead > [adjective]

deadOE

lifelessOE

of lifeOE

storvena1225

dead as a door-nail1362

ydead1387

stark deadc1390

colda1400

bypast1425

perishedc1440

morta1450

obita1450

unquickc1449

gone?a1475

dead and gone1482

extinct1483

departed1503

bygonea1522

amort1546

soulless1553

breathless1562

parted1562

mortified1592

low-laid1598

disanimate1601

carcasseda1603

defunct1603

no morea1616

with God1617

death-stricken1618

death-strucken1622

expired1631

past itc1635

incinerated1657

stock-dead1662

dead as a herring1664

death-struck1688

as dead as a nit1789

(as) dead as mutton1792

low1808

laid in the locker1815

strae-dead1820

disanimated1833

ghosted1834

under the daisies1842

irresuscitable1843

under the sod1847

toes up1851

dead and buried1863

devitalized1866

translated1869

dead and done (for, with)1886

daid1890

bung1893

(as) dead as the (or a) dodo1904

six feet under1942

brown bread1969

OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 114 And hi ealle nu mid Gode on ecnysse blyssiað.

lOE St. Margaret (Corpus Cambr.) (1994) 170 And nu hi is mid Gode and mid eallum his halgum, and þær hi wunað nu and æfre wunian sceal in ealra worulda woruld a buton ænde.

c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 251 Heoren is þe Ioye euerlastonde Wiþ god and wiþ godus sonde.

?1550 L. Ridley Expos. Epist. St. Paule to Philippians i. sig. E.iiii The soules of good men departed this lyfe are with god and with Christe in ioye blysse peace refresshynge comforte and in rest.

1617 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) II. 51 As due to his memory, who is with God.

1651 T. Fuller Abel Redevivus Ep. to Rdr. sig. A3^v Doctor Featly, now at rest with God.

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. lxxxvi. 305 Many letters..from the three reverend gentlemen, Dr. Blome, Mr. Arnold, and Mr. Tompkins, now with God.

1841 E. Churton Early Eng. Church xv. 273 Thou, who art now with God, canst best tell whether in committing it to me thou wast deceived.

1907 Friend 22 June 397/2 I have both a sight and earnest of eternal rest with God.

1937 Rotarian May 46/1 My father was an orthodox Baptist minister. He was a good man, and is now with God.

1996 Church Times 23 Feb. 20/4 I think of Helen and her sister—now with God.

c. In proverbs and proverbial phrases.as sure as God made little apples: see apple n. Phrases 6. man proposes, (but) God disposes: see propose v. 1a. the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small: mill n.¹ Phrases 6. the nearer the church, the farther from God: see church n.¹ and adj. Phrases 1.

ΚΠ

a1325 (c1250) Prov. Hendyng (Cambr.) iv, in Anglia (1881) 4 182 (MED) He is iblessid oso goddis mowþe, Þat god craft lernit in is ȝougthe.

c1450 MS Douce 52 in Festschrift zum XII. Neuphilologentage (1906) 45 Helpe God and haue alle..Spende, and God wyl sende; Spare, and euere bare.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxvii. 524 Ther-fore is seide a proverbe, that god will haue saued, no man may distroye.

c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) cxxx. 480 It is a comune prouerbe sayde, ‘whome that god wyll ayde, no man can hurt’.

1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 17 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 Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. H Spend, & god shall sende..saith thold balet.

1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xii. sig. Eiv^v God is where he was.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 20 It is saide, God sends a curst cow short hornes.

1667 A. Cowley Garden in J. Wells Poems Divers Occasions 2 God the first Garden made, & the first City, Cain.

1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (at cited word) As sure as God's in Gloucestershire.

1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 175 God tempers the wind, said Maria, to the shorn lamb.

1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel III. iii. 79 The homely proverb, that men taunt my calling with—‘God sends good meat, but the devil sends cooks’.

1855 Harper's Mag. June 66/2 They would meet the emergency with the energy of faith and hope, knowing that God helps those who help themselves.

1912 Spectator 18 May 788/2 In the wisdom of the West..the necessity for hard work and for initiative is continually emphasised. ‘God gives the milk, but not the pail’, is typical of many sayings of the people.

1953 A. Huxley Let. 17 Aug. (1969) 683 It is to appear serially—of all places—in Esquire—which is at present engaged in serving God and Mammon.

1991 A. Beevor Inside Brit. Army (rev. ed.) p. xiii ‘God helps those who help themselves,’ said an infantry brigadier in the Ministry of Defence, dismissing any sympathy for understrength battalions.

d. year of God: a particular year ( a.d.). Usually in in the year of God: = Anno Domini adv. Now somewhat rare and chiefly historical. [After post-classical Latin anno domini, lit. ‘in the year of the Lord’ (see Anno Domini adv.); compare earlier the year of our Lord God at lord n. and int. Phrases 2a.]

ΚΠ

1473–4 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 1 The ferd day of the moneth of August, the ȝere of God etc. lxxiij ȝeris.

1542 tr. A. Geuffroy Order Greate Turckes Courte sig. g.i.^v Mehemet the first of his name..dyed in the yere of God .M.cccc.xviij [Fr. mourut lan mil quatre cens dishuict].

a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 99 The battell was strikin wpoun the Assentioun day in the ȝeir of god I^m iiij^c liij ȝeiris.

a1693 in Sc. Presbyterian Eloquence (1738) 129 I have been this Year of God preaching against the Vanity of Women.

1703 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland xi. 155 l found the year of God upon the Lintel of a window in Castle-Sinclar to be 1607.

1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. viii. 221 Richard, called the Red-handed Wardour,..brought the castle and estate into the name of Wardour, in the year of God 1150.

1867 A. M. Bell Lect. Conveyancing I. iii. i. v. 608 The sasine in that case did not contain the year of God... It was accordingly found null.

1890 G. Neilson Trial by Combat xv. 51 Those dull pages, which tell of the purchase of eels and salmon..in the year of God 1289.

2005 MLN 120 165 The Khan alive and well, in the year of God 1298?

e. out of God's blessing into the warm sun and variants: from a better to a worse situation.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > in adversity [phrase] > at the or one's worst > from a prosperous or thriving condition

for (also to, into) the worseOE

out of God's blessing into the warm sun1546

down (the) wind1600

on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1682

to the bad1802

1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. H^v Out of gods blissyng, in to the warme soon.

1577 W. Fulke Overthrow & Confut. Doctr. Purgatory ii. xi. 350 in Two Treat. against Papistes The Church of Rome sendeth her bastards out of the blessing of God, not into the warme sonne, but into whot [sic] burning cooles of purgatory.

a1612 J. Harington Epigrams (1618) ii. 56 Pray God they bring vs not, when all is done, Out of Gods blessing, into this warme sunne.

1612 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) 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.

1673 F. Kirkman Unlucky Citizen x. 169 What good could I expect to have, or learn from such a Master as I was now placed with? by changing my Masters.., I had mended the matter well, by coming out of Gods blessing into the warm Sun.

1710 E. Ward Satyrical Refl. on Clubs xxiv. 279 Captain Russell..made him one of his Retinue, and so remov'd him out of God's Blessing, into the warm Sun.

1881 A. C. Swinburne Mary Stuart i. ii. 54 She should be girt to ride, as the old saw saith, Out of God's blessing into the warm sun.

2009 BBC Monitoring Europe (Nexis) 22 Dec. For the MPC this would mean not only going out of God's blessing into the warm sun, but also falling on the ground.

f. 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.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > according to other attributes

horn of salvation (health)c825

fatherOE

Our FatherOE

leecha1200

searcher of (men's) heartsa1382

untempter1382

headstone of the cornerc1400

Valentinec1450

illuminator1485

sun?1521

righteous maker1535

shepherd1535

verity1535

strengthener1567

gracer1592

heart-searcher1618

heartbreaker1642

sustainera1680

philanthropist1730

the invisible1781

praise1782

All-Father1814

wisdom1855

omniscient1856

engracer1866

inbreather1873

God of the gaps1933

the great —— in the sky1968

1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. 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.]

1933 E. W. Barnes Sci. Theory & Relig. in Sci. News Let. 2 Sept. 157 To me the God of the trigger is as little satisfying as the God of the gaps.

1955 C. A. Coulson Sci. & Christian Belief i. 20 There is no ‘God of the gaps’ to take over at those strategic places where science fails.

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.

2010 Guardian 4 Sept. 30/2 The origin of life and the origin of consciousness are favourite loci for a god-of-the-gaps, but the origin of the universe is the perennial big gap.

g. to play God: to act as if one were God; to attempt to control people or events; to interfere in matters regarded as beyond the (appropriate) sphere of human influence. Cf. to play the god at Phrases 4b.

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1904 E. Phillpotts Amer. Prisoner iii. xi. 353 Sold the whole of 'em..played God and Fate—for two hundred pound—and liberty.

1922 Mexia (Texas) Evening News 17 Oct. 4/4 Here he begins the game of playing God to life's unfortunates.

1989 M. G. Field Success & Crisis in National Health Syst. Introd. 2 The decisions to ‘turn the machine off’ or ‘to play God’, that is deliberately choosing who is going to live and who is going to die.

2007 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 1 Dec. (Q weekend section) 21/1 (heading) Her job is to help families in their darkest hours, but some accuse her of playing God.

h. act of God: see act n. Phrases 4.

i. God is in the details (and variants) [after German der liebe Gott steckt im Detail God is in the detail (1925 in A. Warburg; compare quot. 1953)] : the success of a plan, enterprise, etc., is dependent on scrupulous attention to and execution of small, fine details.The phrase is particularly associated with the German Modernist architect Mies van der Rohe (see quot. 1957).

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1953 W. R. Trask tr. E. R. Curtius European Lit. & Lat. Middle Ages ii. 35 We must..proceed from generalities to the concrete wealth of the substance of history... But, as Aby Warburg used to say to his students, ‘God is in detail [Ger. der liebe Gott steckt im Detail]’.

1957 Life 18 Mar. 68/1 While emphasizing fundamental principles of architecture, he [sc. Mies van der Rohe] reminds them that ‘God is in the details’.

1985 World Politics 37 560 If God is in the detail—..if it is the specificity, the concreteness of social life that brings us closest to understanding it, [etc.].

2014 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 3 Dec. d1 I discovered Ms. Heatter's books when I was a teenager... I loved their exactitude... Suggestions like..chilling the beaters and bowl before whipping heavy cream for the fluffiest texture. God is in the details, as they say.

P3. In oaths.

a. by God, †before (also for, fore) God; also by God above, etc. Cf. by prep. 2. [Compare Anglo-Norman par deu and Middle French, French par Dieu (c1170).] From a desire to avoid the charge of taking God's name in vain arise various distorted or ‘minced’ pronunciations of the word: see cock n.⁶, dod n.¹ and int., Gad n.², gar int., Ged n.², Gog n.¹, goles n., golly int., gom n.³, gosh n., gosse n.¹, gud n., gum n.⁵; also adad int., adod int., bedad int., begad int., begar int., ecod int., egad int., igad int.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > egad

by Goda1225

deusc1300

s'elpa1330

by Gogc1400

Gog of heavena1500

by cock?1548

mort dieua1593

(God) refuse me1596

God damn me1619

adad1664

agad1672

igad1672

egad1673

adod1676

ecod1677

gadso1677

ydadc1680

goles1734

s'gad1743

by (or my) gumc1815

gorblimey1896

a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 57 For god, let þu þet uuele beon.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7000 Vor gode [a1400 Trin. Cambr. bi god] þe nexte king..ne ȝef hom noȝt folliche so muche.

c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 1098 ‘For gode’, queþ Beues, ‘þat ich do nelle’.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7934 ‘Bi godd o-liue’, he suor his ath.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 965 (MED) A mensk lady on molde mon may hir calle, for Gode [rhymes brode, lode].

c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) l. 469 (MED) It is nouȝt wel serued, by God þat al made.

c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) l. 195 Be God þat boȝte me dere!

c1500 Melusine (1895) 293 By god, my lord, shame is therof to you.

?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Cvj^v That is well sayd be god almyght.

?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. C.iv Pardoner. I thought ye lyed. Potycary. And so thought I by god that dyed.

c1557 Enterlude of Youth (new ed.) sig. Bii^v A wyfe nay nay for God auowe He shall haue fleshe inoughe.

1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. C2^v Fran, Are they so? Comes, I before God are they.

1612 B. Jonson Alchemist i. iii. sig. C3^v 'Fore God, my intelligence Costs me more money, then my share oft comes too.

1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 157 By God, Sir, I will doe for Queene Elizabeth that which I will not doe for my selfe.

1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. xxxvi. 276 Before God! I think the fellow's head is made of a wool-pack; for my shot rebounded from his face like a wad of spun-yarn from the walls of a ship.

1799 M. Hays Victim of Prejudice I. iii. 29 ‘By God!’ said he, ‘a little beauty! a Hebe! a wood-nymph! I must and will have a kiss.’

1844 R. W. Emerson Poet in Ess. 2nd Ser. i. 43 He says with the old painter, ‘By God, it is in me, and must go forth of me’.

1885 J. Ormsby Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote III. ii. xxxiv. 384 ‘By God and upon my conscience’, said the devil, ‘I never observed it’.

1912 B. L. Reitman in P. Glassgold Anarchy! (2001) 271 You won't kiss the American flag, eh? By God, we'll make you; we'll ram it down your throat.

1915 J. Turner Let. 3 May in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 12 I do trust, before God, that these innocent-eyed French kiddies do not understand a word of that which they repeat—in our tongue.

1953 V. Randolph & G. P. Wilson Down in Holler 166 By God, I'll chop the damn' thing to pieces!

2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo 161 Well, by God she is a little darling! It's why I went for her.

b. In the genitive with a following noun, expressing asseveration or adjuration. Preceded by by or (in adjuratory use: cf. Phrases 1b) by †for (rarely also †of) or without preposition. Altered or ‘minced’ forms of these oaths are also common: see ad n.², cock n.⁶, Cod n.⁴, cops int., cots n., Cuds n., Gad n.², Gog n.¹, gud n., od n.¹ and int., Uds n.For oaths in which the first element is reduced to merely the genitive ending, as 'Sblood, 'Sdeath, Zooks, zounds, etc., see the relevant main entry.

(a) With an ordinary noun.In some of these oaths the noun denotes an attribute of God; more usually, God's has the sense ‘Christ's’, as in God's arms, God's death, etc. (cf. sense A. 5c). In some humorous oaths, as in God's brother, God's fish, God's hat, God's malt, the noun has no meaning in its connection, being substituted for some word of solemn import.God's blood, God's body, God's dines, God's heart, God's life, God's nails, God's mercy: see the second element.

† (by) God's arms int. Obsolete

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the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 326 By goddes armes if thow falsly pleye This dagger shal thurgh out thyn herte go.

?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.iiii^v Frewyll. I forsake thy company. Imagy. Goddes armes my company and why.

(by) God's bones int. (also †for God's bones) [compare post-classical Latin per os Dei (13th cent. in a British source)] now archaic

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the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's bones

by corpus bonesc1386

cock's bonesc1405

God's bonesc1410

od's bonesa1895

c1410 (c1390) G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale (Harl. 7334) (1868) Prol. l. 4 For goddes boones Tel out a tale.

a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 870 (MED) Hast þou be wonet to swere als, By goddes bones or herte, fals?

1573 New Custome iii. i. sig. D ij Else I will smite thee..by goddes bones.

1599 Hist. Syr Clyomon & Clamydes sig. F Gos bones, turne in that sheep there.

1986 B. Erskine Lady of Hay xxvii. 355 Your tongue betrays you for a shrew and, by God's bones, I'll make a whore of you as well!

† (by) God's bores int. [compare bore n.¹ 1c] Obsolete

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the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's wounds

God's woundsc1460

kocks nownesa1556

nounsa1556

God's bores1578

swounds?1589

zoundsa1593

oons1593

'Snowns1594

wounds1600

od's nounsa1616

Gad's nouns1677

odsoons1694

od zounds1696

zines?1701

swolks1738

zoontersa1763

od's wounds1773

Gadswoons1826

woundikins1836

1578 G. Whetstone Promos & Cassandra: 2nd Pt. iii. ii. sig. Jiv Why, by Gods bores, they can bothe see and marke, If a man steale, but a smouch in the darke.

1600 A. Munday et al. First Pt. True Hist. Sir I. Old-castle sig. C4 Gods bores, I am sory for't.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 142 Gods-bores, what a deale of doe is here about nothing?

(by) God's bread int.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

society > faith > artefacts > consumables > eucharistic elements > bread > [noun]

fleshc1000

ofleteOE

mannaa1200

breada1225

bread of lifea1300

host1303

bodya1325

obleya1325

God's bodya1387

cakec1390

singing bread1432

bread of wheata1450

singing loaf1530

God's bread1535

bread god?1548

round robin?1548

holy bread1552

singing cake1553

Jack-in-the-box1554

wafer-cake?1554

wafer1559

wafer-bread1565

breaden god1570

mass cake1579

wafer-god1623

hostel1624

maker1635

hostie1641

oblata1721

altar bread1839

prosphora1874

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 932 That sall wee do, be Gods breid.

1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. v. 176 Gods bread, it makes me mad.

1881 J. Todhunter Rienzi ii. ii. 53 God's bread! my lord, I need no lawyer's craft In mangling words to think it null and void.

1990 Jrnl. Museum Educ. 15 9/2 My chess box is there in the center—you can see the board at the bottom—and God's bread it's a marvelous pastime.

† by God's corpus int. [compare God's body n. at Compounds 2c and God's body! at body n. Phrases 3; compare Middle French par le corps Dieu (1388)] Obsolete

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the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's body

by God's corpusc1405

God's sides?1515

(by) Gog's arms, blood, body?1520

God's budkin1599

'Sbody1602

od's bobsa1625

'Sbud1676

Gadsbodikins1677

od's bodikins1677

'Sbodikins1677

Gad's bud1680

od's bud1682

'Sbobs1694

Gad's bobs1695

Gadsbudlikins1697

Cob's-body1708

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 555 By goddes corpus this gooth faire and wel.

† by God's crown int. Obsolete

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the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 1943 Be Gods croun..I sall slay thee.

† God's dainty int. Obsolete

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the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's dignity or honour

by God's dignityc1405

dainty1564

God's dainty1564

by God's dines1599

'Sdeynes1616

1564 W. Bullein Dialogue against Fever Pestilence f. 46 V. Gods dentie Jacke sauce whence came you? R... How pretely you can call verlet, and sweare by Gods dintie.

(by) God's death int. (also †for God's death) [compare post-classical Latin per mortem Dei (from 12th cent. in British sources)]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's death

God's deathc1325

'Sdeath1606

c1325 Gilote & Johane in Chaucer Rev. (2004) 39 130/1 Alas, alas, for godes deth—such womon ys yshent!

a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 379 Be goddes dede! Torrant bryngythe a devyll ys hed!

a1586 (a1500) Freiris Berwik l. 236 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 139 Awalk for goddis deid.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 182 Yea, by God's death..ye love him well.

1932 R. Sabatini Black Swan v. 43 By God's death!.. She'll sink us in reply.

2004 C. Revard tr. Gilote et Jehane in Chaucer Rev. 39 130/2 God's death—your life is hell with such a louse!

† by God's dignity int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's dignity or honour

by God's dignityc1405

dainty1564

God's dainty1564

by God's dines1599

'Sdeynes1616

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 350 Thou shalt be deed by goddes dignytee.

a1586 (a1500) Freiris Berwik l. 297 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 141 I will yame haue be goddis dignite.

† by God's doom int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) l. 2561 Syr, by Goddes dome, I rede þou wend right als þou com.

c1503 Beuys of Southhamptowne (Pynson) sig. fii I graunt sayde Beuys by goddys dome.

by God's eyes int. [compare post-classical Latin per oculos Dei (12th cent. in a British source)] now archaic

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 45 (MED) A knyȝt wes þet zuor be godes eȝen.

a1450 Castle Perseverance l. 1109 I schal hym schende & wrekyn me, be Goddis yne.

1605 W. Camden Remaines 210 Let vs set vppon them, and slay them every mothers sonne; and by Gods eyes, when thou hast so done, thou hast killed all the faithfull friendes that thou hast in England.

1790 J. Berington Hist. Reign Henry II ii. 231 ‘Then, by God's eyes,’ said Henry in a rage, ‘he has excommunicated me.’

2007 D. Cosby His Captive iii. 42 By God's eyes, he was tired. At this moment, he could sleep upon a flattened boulder.

† by God's fast int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.ii What god almyghty by goddes fast at salysbury And I trowe eester day fell on whytsonday y^e yere.

c1530 Hickscorner (c1550) E ij b By goddes fast I was ten yere in Newgate.

God's fish int. [perhaps an alteration of God's flesh! at flesh n. 9d] now archaic

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's fish

God's fish1570

od's fish1634

1570 Mariage Witte & Sci. v. i. sig. Ei^v Gods fishe hostes, and knowe you not mee.

1675 A. Marvell Wks. (1875) I. 431 I have a passable good estate, I confess, but, God's-fish, I have a great charge upon't.

1716 Lady 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.

c1728 Earl of Ailesbury Mem. 649 Gods fish! when two rogues fall out, their master then is like to know the truth.

1917 in E. A. Robinson Merlin 18 We'll say, to pass the time, that I speak well. God's fish! The King had eyes; and Lancelot Won't ride home to his mother, for she's dead.

2011 C. Lovejoy Ravishing of Lady May ix God's fish, my lady, who told you such a tale?

† (by) God's foot int. (also for God's foot) Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's foot

God's footc1460

'Sfoot1602

foot1608

c1460 in R. Brotanek Mittelengl. Dichtungen MS 432 Trin. Coll. Dublin (1940) 99 (MED) For goddes fote! holde, for þis is thre.

?1550 R. Weaver Lusty Iuventus sig. D.i Yea by gods foote that I wyl be busye.

1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. F2 Gods foote, I crye God hartely mercy.

God's fury int.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xi. 74 God's fury! there shall no passangers come here.

1851 J. Grant Bothwell II. ix. 111 God's fury, and his malison to boot! be on this white-livered dog—this foul traitor—.

1984 J. Rutherford tr. L. Alas La Regenta (2005) II. xix God's fury! Begad! A curse on him! He is always up to this kind of trick!

† (by) God's gown int. [perhaps compare God's cope n.] Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 393 Or ȝe tuik skaith, be Gods goun [etc.].

1895 Temple Bar Jan. 79 God's gown! but that wine was good!

(by) God's guts int. now archaic

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1543 T. Becon Inuectyue agenst Swearing f. xvii How common an oothe nowe dayes is Gods flesh, Gods bloud,..Goddes guttes, and all that euer maye be rehearsed of God?

1573 New Custome ii. iii. sig. C iv^v Nowe by goddes guttes I will neuer staye, Tyll I finde meanes to ridde the beast out of the waye.

1995 D. Coward tr. A. Dumas Vicomte De Bragelonne (1998) lii. 361 Without saying once in course of the day, by God's guts, or a pox on it.

† God's hat int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1569 T. Preston Lamentable Trag. Cambises D iv b Gods hat neighbour come away.

† God's lady int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > (originally) with reference to Mary

marrya1375

Marya1375

by (our) lakin1496

by the Mary mass1532

by God's mother?1544

marry (and) amenc1574

God's lady1589

marry-go-look1590

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 193 Gods lady I reckon my selfe as good a man as he.

† (by) God's lid int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's eyelid

God's lid1600

'Slid1606

Gad's lid1616

od's lid1616

Zlid1616

'Slidikins1694

slitterkins1786

1600 T. Dekker Old Fortunatus sig. H^v Nay gods lid, y'are not gon so.

1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor ii. iii. sig. E4^v By Gods lid, and you had not confest it ——.

1609 Euerie Woman in her Humor sig. D3 By Gods-lid, if I had knowne [etc.].

1834 R. M. Bird Calavar II. xxv. 191 How now, my noble friend! art thou hurt beyond speaking! God's lid! but I would hug thee, if thou didst not look so dismal!

(by) God's light int.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 61 Gods light I was neuer cald so in mine owne house before.

1607 T. Heywood Woman Kilde with Kindnesse sig. D3 Gods light, hark within there.

1822 Atheneum: Spirit of Eng. Mags. Nov. 100/2 By God's light, coward, I have a mind to put this knife into you.

2009 S. Wiggs At King's Command 23 By God's light, Laszlo, he's all I have now.

† God's lord int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Cv^v Goddis lorde seist not who is here now.

1600 T. Dekker Shomakers Holiday sig. G3 Gods lord tis late, to Guild Hall I must hie.

† God's malt int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eiiii Gods malt Gammer gurton.

by God's mother int. [compare Mother of God at mother n.¹ 5]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > (originally) with reference to Mary

marrya1375

Marya1375

by (our) lakin1496

by the Mary mass1532

by God's mother?1544

marry (and) amenc1574

God's lady1589

marry-go-look1590

?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. D.i^v No stone lefte standynge by goddes mother.

1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard (1878) iv. 118 Now, by God's mother, if I respite him..He should not lose a hair.

1983 S. Raven September Castle i. 87 By God's Mother I speak only the truth.

† by God's name int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 2191 (MED) Be godes name, Ichaue for þe sofred meche schame!

1644 S. Rutherford Lex, Rex Pref. sig. a3 King James cast him off, and did swear, By Gods name he intended to be King, (the Prelate maketh Blasphemy a vertue in the King).

† for God's pain int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion

God's passionc1460

by God's pinea1500

for God's paina1500

cock's passion1535

for the pashe of God?1553

God's my passion?1577

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 23 Peasse, man, for Godys payn!

(by) God's passion int.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion

God's passionc1460

by God's pinea1500

for God's paina1500

cock's passion1535

for the pashe of God?1553

God's my passion?1577

c1460 in R. Brotanek Mittelengl. Dichtungen MS 432 Trin. Coll. Dublin (1940) 100 (MED) By goddes passioun! lousy horeson, In a bettre tyme mightest þou neuer come.

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 1438 That sall we do..be Gods passioun.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xvi. 153 Gods passion..said she, would thou haue me beare mo children yet.

a1846 A. De Vere Mary Tudor, Pt. 2 (1847) i. ii. 165 God's Passion! Said I not how these fellows should be known?

1903 A. Austin Flodden Field i. 44 Now, by God's Passion, on this very hour, And on its undetermined issue, hangs The future of two great opposing Realms.

2001 V. Henley Border Hostage iv. 40 God's passion, woman, nothin' good ever came up from England!

† by God's pine int. [pine n.¹] Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion

God's passionc1460

by God's pinea1500

for God's paina1500

cock's passion1535

for the pashe of God?1553

God's my passion?1577

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 35 I swere bi Godys pyne.

c1503 Beuys of Southhamptowne (Pynson) sig. fiii^v I the tel by goddys pyne.

† God's pity int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's pity

God's pity1569

od's pittikinsa1616

1569 T. Preston Lamentable Trag. Cambises B j b Yea Gods pittie, begin ye to intreat me?

1606 G. Chapman Gentleman Vsher iv. i. sig. G4^v Gods pittie, what an errant Asse was I, To entertaine the Princes craftie friendship?

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. xv. 271 ‘God's pity! that was well said, my lord,’ said the Queen.

1912 L. N. Parker Drake (1913) ii. iii. 80 Queen (Deeply moved) God's pity!—My poor mariners!—My heart aches for you!

by God's rood int. now archaic

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2127 (MED) Y wold þe litel gode, Ac y þe wraied neuer day, Y swere bi godes rode.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 20 Here by God's rood is the one maid for me.

1926 C. Stilson Sword Play vi. 91 ‘A comely boy, by God's rood!’ he drawled; ‘comely as any wench.’

2005 J. Trapp Master of Pleasure xxvi. 268 ‘By God's rood,’ Godric cursed, striding inside.

† (by) God's sacrament int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. C.iii^v Courtly abusyon ye dyd they so Fansy ye by goddes sacrament and with other mo.

1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eii^v Gods sacrament the villain knaue hath drest vs round about.

† God's sacring int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 209 Gods sacringe I haue lost a noble at two settes.

† (by) God's sides int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's body

by God's corpusc1405

God's sides?1515

(by) Gog's arms, blood, body?1520

God's budkin1599

'Sbody1602

od's bobsa1625

'Sbud1676

Gadsbodikins1677

od's bodikins1677

'Sbodikins1677

Gad's bud1680

od's bud1682

'Sbobs1694

Gad's bobs1695

Gadsbudlikins1697

Cob's-body1708

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 25 Bi Codys sydys, if thou do, I shall hang the apon this plo.]

?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.iiii^v By goddes sydes I hadde leuer be hanged.

c1600 Club Law (1907) v. iv. 99 Gods sides hee beggs like a Coward.

(by) God's soul int. now rare

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1345–9 Wardrobe Acct. Edward III in Archaeologia (1846) 31 43 (MED) Hay, hay, the Wythe swan! by godes soule, I am thy man!

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 24 By goddes soule..that wol nat I.

1573 New Custome i. ii. sig. B ij I can not by goddes sowle.

a1586 Peblis to Play 18 Be Goddis saull, that is trew.

1993 Island News for Seniors Mar. 16/3 God's soul and body! you had to have your horses.

(by) God's teeth (also tooth) int. [compare hell's teeth int. at hell n. and int. Compounds 2]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 242 By Gods tooth (quoth King Iohn) he were a King indeede that had suche a Knighte.

1700 J. Tyrrell Gen. Hist. Eng. II. ii. vii. 735 He [sc. King John]..spoke many hard words against the Pope and his Cardinals, Swearing by God's Teeth (his usual Oath) that..he would forthwith send all the Prelates and Clergy of England to the Pope.

1831 P. Leicester Arthur of Brittany II. iii. 64 Cease, or by God's teeth, this hand shall teach thee respect.

1922 M. Dallett New Salome i. 17 She is so pretty! God's tooth, Francis, but I shall be angry soon.

2003 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 9 Nov. 3 So how many times has he spun the yarn? ‘God's teeth, I don't know. Thousands.’

† (by) God's will int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1579 T. Churchyard Gen. Rehearsall Warres sig. G.iv^v For by Gods will quod he (as it is my Lordes earnest woorde) if the Ryngraue lodge so nere my charge, the one of vs bothe shall take little reste.

1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. I^v Gods will tis sir Raph Smith.

1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iv. i. sig. I2^v Draw, or by Gods will ile thresh you.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 154 Ho, The Towne will rise, godswill Leiutenant, hold.

1884 Little Arthur's Hist. of France xvii. 78 ‘Let the boy win his spurs,’ said he, ‘for by God's will, I desire that all the honour of the day shall be his.’

† of God's word int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

?1550 R. Weaver Lusty Iuventus sig. D.ii This is an ernest fellow of gods worde.

(by) God's wounds int. (also †for God's wounds)

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's wounds

God's woundsc1460

kocks nownesa1556

nounsa1556

God's bores1578

swounds?1589

zoundsa1593

oons1593

'Snowns1594

wounds1600

od's nounsa1616

Gad's nouns1677

odsoons1694

od zounds1696

zines?1701

swolks1738

zoontersa1763

od's wounds1773

Gadswoons1826

woundikins1836

c1460 in R. Brotanek Mittelengl. Dichtungen MS 432 Trin. Coll. Dublin (1940) 100 Come þens, for goddes woundes fyve..Þou lyest, horesone.

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 991 That sall I nocht, be Gods wounds.

a1649 A. Weldon Cat may look upon King (1652) 80 Hee instantly gave up the ghost with these words, Gods wounds, I am slain!

1779 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 204/1 God's wounds, Doughty, what dost thou mean to use this familiarity with me?

1932 R. Macaulay They were Defeated i. ii. 22 God's wounds, ye'd think the country and parliament was run mad, flouting and denying and insulting His Majesty the way they do.

2005 C. J. Farley Kingston by Starlight x. 79 By God's wounds you'd best remember those wise words and work harder at your stations.

†(b) With an ordinary noun preceded by an adjective, or (occasionally) an adjective used elliptically. Obsolete.See also God's (also ods, uds) precious (blood, body, heart, etc.) at precious adj. 1b.

ΚΠ

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Melibeus (Hengwrt) (2003) §18 Gladly..by goddes swete pyne.

c1460 (c1390) G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale (Selden) (1868) Prol. l. 13 A-bide for godis digne passion.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xii. 118 A, Godys dere Dominus, What was that sang?

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xvi. 188 By Gottys dere nalys, I wyll peasse no langer.

1543 Chron. J. Hardyng v. f. lxvi She is a widowe & hath already children. By goddes blessed ladye, I am a bacheler & haue some too.

?1562 Thersytes sig. C.iiii^v Ye that I wyll, by goddes deare brother.

?1562 Thersytes sig. D.iii^v By goddes blessed brother Yf [etc.].

1573 New Custome ii. iii. sig. C iv By goddes glorious woundes hee was worthy of none.

1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Ei A great deale more (by Gods blest,) then cheuer by the got.

1608 Merry Deuill of Edmonton sig. C2^v By Gods blessed Angell, Thou shalt well know it.

1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. i. 154 Gods blest Mother, I sweare he is true-hearted.

(c) With nouns not found in other contexts, probably in most instances altered or fabricated forms.God's bodikins, God's nigs, God's pittikins, God's santy: see the second element. See also Godsokers int., and Gad n.² and int. Compounds.

† (by) God's diggers int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1602 W. S. True Chron. Hist. Ld. Cromwell sig. E^v Well Ioane heele come this waye: and by Gods dickers ile tell him roundlie of it.

1647 J. Cleveland Char. London-diurnall 24 Then Roger was inspir'd, and by Gods-diggers, Hee'l sweare in words at large, and not in figures.

1688 T. D'Urfey Fool's Preferment iv. 66 The Gentlevolkes are huge loving, an't like your Worship, Godsdiggers, I was afraid they would have Buss'd me too.

† God's dominus int. [compare God's lord int. at Phrases 3b(a)] Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

c1530 A. Barclay Egloges i. sig. B.iv^v Losse, goddys domynus to lose..thou hast no good Saue hoke and cokers, thy botell and thy hood.

† (by) God's ludd int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 249 Gods ludd I near left my booke till I cam to the houre a catar waulinge.

1606 G. Chapman Sir Gyles Goosecappe i. i. sig. B By gods ludd thy Surname is neuer thought vpon here, I perceiue heeres no bodie giues thee any commendations.

† by God's me int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. I4 Yet by Gods me, Ile take no wrong.

1616 B. Jonson Euery Man in his Humor (rev. ed.) iii. v. in Wks. 40 By gods mee, I marle, what pleasure, or felicitie they haue in taking this roguish tabacco! it's good for nothing, but to choke a man.

† God's sokinges int. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous

depardieuc1290

by God's namec1330

by God's roodc1330

by God's eyes1340

God's soul1345

for God's sakec1386

cock's soulc1405

God's armsc1405

by God's dooma1425

(by) (God's) nailsa1500

by God's fast?1515

God's lord?1520

God's sacramenta1529

God's dominusc1530

by God's crown1535

God's bread1535

God's gown1535

God's guts1543

of God's word?1550

God's hat1569

Gods me1570

marry (a) Godc1574

God's malt1575

God's ludd?1577

God's sacring?1577

God's sokinges?1577

trunnion?1577

(by) God's will1579

God's teeth1580

'Shearta1596

God's light1598

by God's me1599

'Snails1599

'Slight1600

God's diggers1602

'Swill1602

od's mea1616

od's my lifea1616

'Sprecious1631

'Sbores1640

odso1660

for sake('s) sake1665

Gad's precious1677

heartlikins1677

od1681

'Sdiggers1687

(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707

God's fury1748

heartikins1751

S'fire1791

nom de Dieu1848

'strewth1892

Lord lumme1895

lumme1898

?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 195 Gods sokinges houlde your handes.

(d) Occasionally with the noun omitted.

ΚΠ

?1576 Common Condicions sig. Diij Ah Gods, now farewell Phrygia soyle.

1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle i. sig. D1 Bid the plaiers send Rafe, or by Gods—and they do not [etc.].

†(e) In expressions blending Phrases 3b(a) and Phrases 1c(b)(ii) (where save is omitted or contracted), as God's my arms, God's my passion, God's my pity, etc. Obsolete (archaic in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion

God's passionc1460

by God's pinea1500

for God's paina1500

cock's passion1535

for the pashe of God?1553

God's my passion?1577

?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 189 Godes my armes sticke not to drawe your sworde.

1599 G. Chapman Humerous Dayes Myrth sig. B^v Gods my passion what haue I done?

1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore ii. i. 52 Gods my pittikins, some foole or other knocks.

1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore sig. D1 Nay, Gods my pitty, what an asse is that Citizen to lend mony of a Lord.

1638 W. Rowley Shoo-maker a Gentleman iv. sig. G4^v Hence you Whore-master knave, Gods my passion, got a wench with childe..: Precious coales, you are a fine youth indeed.

1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard iv. i. 156 God's my pity! Where's Hamilton? doth she ail too?

c. In asseverations, as as God is my judge, as God is my witness, †so God me bless, †so God me mend, etc. Also with omission of so or as, and occasional alteration of the verb. Cf. as conj. 13, so adv. and conj. 19.so help me God, so God me rede, so God me speed, so God save me: see the verbs.marry (a) God: see marry int. 2a. [With as God is my witness compare post-classical Latin Deo teste (13th cent. in a British source).]

ΚΠ

c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 655 (MED) Child, so god þe rede, How were þou fram rohand lorn?

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1575 ‘Wolleþ ȝe ȝou defende?’..‘Ȝea, so god me mende.’

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Thopas/Melibeus Link (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 4 Also wisly god my soule blesse Myne erys aken of thy drasty speche.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiii. 149 No, so God me blys.

1589 Rare Triumphes Loue & Fortune iv. sig. D.iv^v As god iuggle me when I came neere them [etc.].

1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iv. i. sig. H4^v As Gods my iudge, they should haue kild me first.

1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor ii. ii. sig. E^v I am asham'd of this base course of life (God's my comfort) but [etc.] .

1620 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster iv. 48 God iudge me, I vnderstand you not.

1761 London Mag. Dec. 670/1 How they should be bloody, as God is my saviour, I cannot answer.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clare in Poems (new ed.) II. 196 ‘As God's above!’ said Alice the nurse, ‘I speak the truth: you are my child.’

1893 E. Saltus Madam Sapphira 133 As God is my witness that girl is as straight as your sister.

1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind xxv. 428 As God is my witness, as God is my witness, the Yankees aren't going to lick me. I'm going to live through this, and when it's over, I'm never going to be hungry again.

1974 B. Friel Freedom of City in Sel. Plays (1984) 157 As God's my judge he was stuck in it for two days and two nights.

2005 Z. Smith On Beauty 427 I am gonna strike you down where you stand, as God is my witness, I will wear your ass out today.

P4. In phrases not referring to a single Supreme Being.

a. the god of this world [after post-classical Latin deus huius saeculi (Vulgate)] : the Devil, regarded as controlling or holding sway over the temporal world.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun]

devileOE

Beelzebubc950

the foul ghosteOE

SatanOE

warlockOE

SatanasOE

worsea1200

unwinea1225

wondc1250

quedea1275

pucka1300

serpenta1300

dragon1340

shrew1362

Apollyon1382

the god of this worldc1384

Mahoundc1400

leviathan1412

worsta1425

old enemyc1449

Ruffin1567

dismal1570

Plotcocka1578

the Wicked One1582

goodman1603

Mahu1603

foul thief1609

somebody1609

legiona1616

Lord of Flies1622

walliman1629

shaitan1638

Old Nicka1643

Nick1647

unsel?1675

old gentleman1681

old boy1692

the gentleman in black1693

deuce1694

Black Spy1699

the vicious one1713

worricow1719

Old Roger1725

Lord of the Flies1727

Simmie1728

Old Scratch1734

Old Harry1777

Old Poker1784

Auld Hornie1786

old (auld), ill thief1789

old one1790

little-good1821

Tom Walker1833

bogy1840

diabolarch1845

Old Ned1859

iniquity1899

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. iv. 4 In whiche the God of this world [L. deus huius saeculi] hath blyndid the soules of men out of the bileue.

?c1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 370 Ȝif þe gospel is hid, it is hid to hem þat perschen, in þe whiche god of þis worlde haþ blyndid þe mynde of unfeiþful men.

1543 T. Becon New Yeares Gyfte sig. E.v Satan the God of this worlde, had blynded our mindes, that we should not beleue, vnlesse the lyghte of the glorious gospell of Christ, whiche is the Image of God, should shyne vnto vs.

1612 W. Sclater Christians Strength Ep. Ded. sig. A2 Wee fight not against flesh and bloud: wee encounter and conquer, yea overconquer the God of this world.

a1744 I. Terry Sixteen Serm. (1746) 213 This World and its Inhabitants are frequently represented as under the Dominion of the Devil. For he is called the God of this World.

1834 J. Hambleton in Brit. Pulpit (1839) 1 180 The god of this world holds such multitudes in his iron bondage.

1875 H. Read (title) The God of this world: the footprints of Satan: or, the devil in history.

1965 D. M. Lloyd Jones Spiritual Depression v. 75 Unfortunately it is true I was blinded by the god of this world, but thank God His grace was more abundant.

1994 Third Way Mar. 4/2 Only those who have been blinded by the god of this world deny that private and public conduct are to some extent linked.

b. to play the god: to play the part of a god; to attempt to control people or events; to interfere in matters regarded as beyond the (appropriate) sphere of human influence.

ΚΠ

1578 T. Churchyard Disc. Queenes Entertainem. sig. Diij^v To play the God, fye foolish boy, leaue of these toyes in time,..Thou art not of the race of Gods, thou art some Beggers chitte.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 338 As her appetite shall play the god With his weake function.

1738 W. Robinson Poems on Several Occasions in Intriguing Milliners 67 Ingenious Hogarth..plays the God with all he draws!

1766 T. Amory Life John Buncle II. xiii. 491 His breeding and his eloquence..induced me to fancy him an angel of a man... For three months he played the god, and I fondly thought there was not such another happy woman as myself in all the world.

1851 H. Spencer Social Statics xxxii. 475 We are not to be guilty of that practical atheism, which, seeing no guidance for human affairs but its own limited foresight, endeavours itself to play the god.

1870 S. Winkworth tr. C. C. J. Bunsen God in Hist. III. vi. iv. 328 When Alexander played the god, his life and empire were forfeited.

1966 W. H. Stone Cave & Mountain xii. 322 Ronny, accused by his mother of playing the god and enjoying it.

c. a feast, sight, etc. (fit) for the gods: a delightful or amazing feast, sight, etc.

ΚΠ

1584 R. Greene Morando sig. E.iv Leaue of to inueigh against Loue, since it is a labour fit for the Gods.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 173 Let's carue him, as a Dish fit for the Gods.

1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 19/1 It is pronounced ‘fine’, ‘super-excellent’, ‘food fit for the gods!’

1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 456/1 He considered pepper-pot a dish fit for the gods.

1898 Tit-Bits 21 May 154/2 The avidity with which they polished off joss candles was a sight for the gods.

1938 Scotsman 19 Aug. 14/2 To people out of sorts with life,..they provided a feast fit for the gods.

2002 Best of Brit. Nov. 49/2 At Christmas we can still run to a can of the 1943 Spam as a treat... If you can find a good can of the '43 what's not blown, that's food fit for the gods.

d. ye gods (and little fishes)!: used to express indignation, disbelief, or amazement, esp. in a consciously archaic or grandiose way.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > exclamation of wonder [interjection] > mingled with indignation

ye gods (and little fishes)!1761

?1534 R. Whittington tr. Cicero Paradox sig. D.iiii^v O ye goddes immortall [L. O di immortales!], men knowe not how great a gayne or profyte is for a man to be a sparer and a sauer.]

1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada ii. iii. iii. 116 Ye gods, why are not Hearts first pair'd above!

1709 Brit. Apollo 3–5 Aug. Her Coughing and Squelching, Her F..ting and Belch[in]g, Ye Gods, what a Consort is here!

1761 J. Boswell Let. 17 Dec. in Lett. A. Erskine & J. Boswell (1763) 56 It is Captain Andrew! It is! it is! Ye Gods! he seizes! he opens! he reads!

1807 C. Wilmot Let. 15 May in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 243 Oh! ye Gods! How you are to be envied & every Mortal alive.

1820 Mrs. Purcell Orientalist I. v. 83 Ye gods and little fishes! what roses and lilies—pink, satin, and sable.

1871 L. M. Alcott Little Men ii. 27 But out of school,—Ye gods and little fishes! how Tommy did carouse!

1909 H. G. Wells Ann Veronica i. 9 ‘Ye gods!’ she said at last. ‘What a place!’

1964 W. Markfield To Early Grave (1965) xi. 187 He cried to himself ‘Ye Gods!’ and ‘Whoosh!’

1992 L. Marks & M. Gran New Statesman 74 Ye Gods and little fishes, that it should come to this!

e. god from (also out of) the (or a) machine: = deus ex machina n. [After post-classical Latin deus ex machina and its etymon ancient Greek θεὸς ἐκ μηχανῆς (see deus ex machina n.).]

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > providential assistance

god from (also out of) the (or a) machine1676

deus ex machina1697

1676 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges Acct. Voy. Athens iii. 304 As the Criticks in Rome upon the same occasion were wont to say, Deus è Machina; Now for a God from a Machine.

1735 Bayle's Gen. Dict. Hist. & Crit. (new ed.) II. 484/2 The best expedient, when such disputes arise, is to have recourse to the secular Arm, like a God from a machine, in order to cut the knot.

1869 A. Trollope Phineas Finn 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 R. Kipling Soldiers Three 1 (title of story) The god from the machine.

1910 G. K. Chesterton George Bernard 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.

1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) xiii. 407 This gift which India, greatest of all gods from the machine, has just dropped into their astonished laps.

f. Proverbs.

(a) whom the gods would destroy they first make mad and variants. [Apparently after post-classical Latin quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat, lit. ‘those who God wants to perish, he first makes mad’ (1607 or earlier), itself perhaps after Hellenistic Greek ὄταν ὁ δαίμων ἀνδρὶ πορσύνῃ κακά, τὸν νοῦν ἔβλαψε πρῶτον, lit. ‘when a spirit prepares evil for a man, he first confuses the mind’, apparently quoted from an earlier source in Athenagoras of Athens Legatio sive Supplicatio pro Christianis, chap. 26 section 2; compare also a very similar passage in Scholia (Byzantine Greek or earlier) on Sophocles Antigone 620. A former attribution of the proverb to Euripides cannot be confirmed.]

ΚΠ

1804 M. Edgeworth Murad i. in Pop. Tales (ed. 2) II. 13 Whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first deprive of understanding.

1875 M. Thompson Hoosier Mosaics 180 Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.

1997 P. K. Chadwick Schizophrenia Pref. p. xi ‘Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.’ A saying more likely to spread prejudice against the seriously mentally ill it is difficult to imagine.

(b) whom the gods love die young. [After classical Latin quem dī dīligunt adulēscēns moritur ( Plautus Bacchides l. 816-817), itself after ancient Greek ὅν οἱ θεοὶ ϕιλοῦσιν ἀποθνήισκει νέος ( Menander Dis Exapaton frag. 4).]

ΚΠ

1546 W. Hugh Troubled Mans Med. ii. sig. B.viii^v But among all other, saith the great poete Menander: Most happy be they and best belouid of god, that dye whan they be yong.]

1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IV xii. 77 ‘Whom the gods love die young’ was said of yore.

1878 R. L. Stevenson Aes Triplex in Cornhill Mag. Apr. 437 When the Greeks made their fine saying that those whom the gods love die young, I cannot help believing they had this sort of death also in their eye.

1972 A. Price Col. Butler's Wolf xx. 224 ‘Whom the gods love die young’, the war taught us that.

g. on the knees of the gods: see knee n. 2c. in the lap of the gods: see lap n.¹ 5c.

Compounds

C1.

a. General use as a modifier.

(a) With first element in singular form.

† god-belly n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1540 R. Wisdome in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1822) I. ii. App. 473 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 Christian Relig. Appeal ii. 20 That devouring God-belly-gulph Heliogabalus.

god clan n. [originally after Swedish gudaklan (1886 in the passage translated in quot. 1889)]

ΚΠ

1889 R. B. Anderson tr. V. Rydberg Teutonic Mythol. 142 One of the god-clans [Sw. af gudaklanerna] has committed the murder.

2008 M. Skye Goddess Afoot! 207 To cut off Sif's hair shows a lack of respect for her, as well as for her entire god clan, known as the Aesir.

God-consciousness n. [after German Gottesbewusstsein (1812)]

ΚΠ

1841 H. J. Rose tr. A. Neander Hist. Christian Relig. & Church II. 235 Even the common God-consciousness [Ger . Gottesbewusstseyn], the consciousness of the God, in whom we live and move and have our being, received a new impulse from Christianity.

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 Man of Tomorrow (title page) Human evolution impelling man onward to God-consciousness.

2009 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 22 Aug. a8/1 Ramadan was prescribed by God so that the Muslims can achieve ‘taqwa’, or God-consciousness.

god-folk n.

ΚΠ

1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd iii. 217 The kin of the God-folk.

1916 V. S. Howard tr. S. Lagerlöf Emperor or Portugallia 18 He argued with himself that it was wrong in him to borrow trouble, when his child had such godfolk as the master and mistress of Falla.

1993 R. Shell iCED 111 And I shouldn't cuss Jehovah's Witnesses because they're God Folk and you gotta be careful how you treat or think of God Folk because they can get in your chest and under your skin.

† god-Greek n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1844 E. B. Barrett Dead Pan in Poems II. 266 Shall..no hero take inspiring From the God-Greek of her lips?

1862 John Bull 15 Nov. 731/1 A translator of Homer has to turn that wonderful ‘god-Greek’ into English.

God-idea n.

ΚΠ

1843 Standard 28 Jan. What is the God-idea promulgated for?—To subjugate the many for the benefit of the few.

1869 H. Tuttle (title) The career of the God-idea in history.

1910 E. S. Ames Psychol. Relig. Experience 319 The God-idea is a teleological idea.

1949 Horizon Mar. 225 However primary and archetypical the God-idea may be.

2012 Evening Gaz. (Nexis) 25 Feb. 12 I assume that Mr Potts would remain a good person without the God idea?

god-kin n. [in quot. 2003 translating post-classical Latin commater commother n. (from a medieval source); compare Middle English godsibbe (see gossip n. 1).]

ΚΠ

1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd iv. 379 Round the fettered and bound they throng As men in the bitter battle round the God-kin over-strong.

2003 D. L. Smail Consumption of Justice 105 Uga, moreover, was Tomas's god-kin, a spiritual relationship that would more or less exclude the possibility of a profound social gulf between them.

god-light n.

ΚΠ

1838 E. B. Barrett Seraphim & Other Poems 194 Or Poet Plato, had th' undim Unsetting Godlight broke on him.

1867 P. J. Bailey Universal Hymn 6 Moon, whose gleam Reflective, types the God-light, wherewith shines Man's soul.

1909 E. Gosse Autumn Garden 19 O million shafts of pines, On each of whom the god-light shines, In you the miracle I see Of multitude in unity.

2004 I. McDonald River of Gods (2005) xlvi. 546 The god-light fading into the background microwave hum of the universe.

god-love n.

ΚΠ

a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo iv, in Wks. (1721) III. 109 The holy Jesus..Co-effluent God-Love on his Spirit shed.

a1881 S. Lanier Poems (1908) 76 Wife-love flies level, his dear mate to seek: God-love darts straight into the skies above.

1935 M. R. Anand Untouchable 205 Gandhi..will teach us the true religion of God-love which is the best swaraj (self-government).

1993 Time 15 Mar. 24 Here is the paradox of God-love as a life-force that is capable of transforming itself into a death-force.

God-murder n. [originally after post-classical Latin deicidium (1535 or earlier: see deicide n.²); compare God-slaughter n.]

ΚΠ

1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (1 John iii. 15) 474 By like reason we may say that sin is God-murther.

?1842 G. J. Holyoake Spirit of Bonner in Disciples of Jesus (ed. 2) 5 From the days of Constantine to the god-murders perpetrated on the fields of Rathcormac, Christianity has swam in blood.

1998 R. K. Hughes Luke II. xxxiii. 257 Their crime, which would take place within the week, was not just homicide but deicide—God-murder!

God-slaughter n. [after post-classical Latin deicidium deicide n.²; compare manslaughter n.; compare also God-murder n.]

ΚΠ

1647 J. Trapp Mellificium Theol. in Comm. Epist. & Rev. 730 This is Deicidium, God-slaughter.

1842 Boston Investigator 22 June If I should ever..wish to commit a spiritual murder, or God-slaughter.

2006 B. Henderson Simple Gifts (2008) iv. 149 ‘There Is a Balm in Gilead’ wants none of this God-slaughter.

god-state n.

ΚΠ

1811 F. Jeffrey Let. 25 Jan. in Ld. Cockburn Life Ld. Jeffrey (1852) II. 131 Murray is in great preservation—a little too bustling and anxious for my epicurean god state.

1852 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 5) 412 He in the God-state first..passed away.

2007 J. Goldberg Liberal Fascism vi. 234 The Social Gospellers were mostly postmillennialists in their aspirations: they believed the Hegelian God-state was the kingdom of heaven on earth.

(b) Appositive.

god-Caesar n.

ΚΠ

1881 A. J. Thébaud Church & Moral World ii. i. 191 To offer incense to idols or to the image of the god-Cæsar.

1920 H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. 282/2 He [sc. the Jew] stood out manfully against the worship of any god-Caesar.

1991 S. Waller tr. H. K. Fierz Jungian Psychiatry xxi. 395 The regression to the God-Caesar was hollow.

god-crocodile n.

ΚΠ

a1661 B. Holyday in tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 272 Whiles..the god-crocodile seem'd tame, all was well.

1796 tr. C.-F. Volney Ruins (ed. 3) xxii. 251 Thus the God Ichneumon made war against the God crocodile; the God wolf wanted to eat the God sheep; the God stork devoured the God serpent.

2002 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 7 Mar. One legend says that the original settlers rode on the back of a giant god-crocodile into the midst of the lake to start their homes.

god-fire n. [in quot. 1884 after Sanskrit deva god (see deva n.) + agni fire (see ignite v.), apparently by folk-etymological interpretation of the name Devāṅgan]

ΚΠ

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) i. 52 This their God-fire is not composed of common combustibles.

1884 Gazetteer Bombay Presidency XVII. 133 (note) Their descendants are called Devágni or god-fire Bráhmans.

2002 K. Reimann Prince of Fire & Ashes xxvi. 457 Tullier..screamed, his clothes bursting into flame, the God-fire searing his skin.

† God-foe n. [after ancient Greek ἀντίθεος (see etymology at anti- prefix)] Obsolete

ΚΠ

?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses i. 4 The God-foe Polypheme [Gk. ἀντίθεον Πολύϕημον].

god-king n. [with appositive uses compare German Gottkönig (17th cent. or earlier)]

ΚΠ

1831 London Lit. Gaz. 29 Jan. 68/3 The identity of the god-king Oden, or Woden, with Buddha and Mercury, is confirmed beyond all dispute.

1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. ii. §48. 159 All titles of honour are originally the names of the god-king.

1954 Life 22 Feb. 83/1 The cathedral doors opened and the 10-year-old God-King stepped slowly out, supported to right and left by two abbots.

2002 Church Times 31 May 8/3 It was not to be just any Hindu temple: it would mark the place where the god-king Ram was born.

† god mercer n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

a1640 P. Massinger & J. Fletcher Very Woman iii. i. 132 in P. Massinger 3 New Playes (1655) They have new Creators, God Tailor, and God Mercer.

† god-ram n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1772 T. Nugent tr. J. F. de Isla Hist. Friar Gerund I. 522 Building to the God-Ram [Sp. Dios Carnero] the first temple.

(c) With first element in plural form.

† gods-avengers n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1869 W. E. Gladstone Juventus Mundi xv. §3 527 That under~ground region, in which dwelt the Gods-Avengers, and which was the realm of Aïdes and Persephone.

† gods-guardians n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God iii. xiv. 125 For all the helpe of these gods-guardians [L. diis praesidibus], there was not one King of them that continued his raigne in peace.

1876 J. P. Newman Sermons 303 I prefer the good old Protestant way, going directly to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Away with your gods-protectors, your gods-guardians!

1911 A. C. Gaebelein Prophet Daniel (ed. 2) xi. 182 These gods guardians, the Virgin Mary, saints, and angels, were utterly unknown, as mediators and invocable guardians, in the primitive apostolic church.

b. Objective.

(a) With agent nouns.

God-hater n. [in quot. 1618 paraphrasing Psalm 83:2]

ΚΠ

1618 T. Adams Happines of Church i. 25 He calls them Gods enemies, tumultuous, proud, God-haters.

1643 J. Vicars (title) A looking-glasse for malignants. Or, Gods hand against God-haters.

1884 Catholic World June 328 The incisive cynic and God-hater, Voltaire.

2005 Evening Standard (Nexis) 11 May 41 Bruckner's seventh promised a heavenly immortality that a God-hater like Hitler regarded as his divine right.

God-maker n.

ΚΠ

?1531 R. Barnes Supplic. Kinge Henrye VIII f. C.xxxiii^v Now wolde I know of these new godmakers by whose power and helpe y^t the fyrste sayncte came in to heuen.

1721–6 W. Byrd Commonplace Bk. (2001) 120 One of his captains thought it too gross, after complementing Alexander with being the offspring of a God to allow him also to be a God-maker.

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.

1995 New Scientist 21 Jan. 49/2 Let the word-spinners and god-makers keep it for their own.

God-monger n.

ΚΠ

1842 Oracle of Reason 1 406/2 I would seriously advise him..to leave the god-mongers to fight their own battles.

1883 J. Parker Apostolic Life II. 206 You will be but jostling a whole crowd of god-mongers.

2004 Halifax (Nova Scotia) Daily News (Nexis) 11 Mar. 16 God-mongers such as Rush Limbaugh and Jimmy Swaggart seem particularly susceptible to this phenomenon.

God-murderer n. [compare God-murder n. at Compounds 1a(a); compare earlier God-hater n. and also God-slayer n.; compare further deicide n.¹]

ΚΠ

1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (Rom. i. 30) 5 Haters of God. And so God-murtherers.

1861 Times 1 Mar. 9 It is the Emperor who has absolved himself in vain. So he is ‘God-murderer’.

2009 M. Small & V. Shayne Remember Us 16 The Gentiles could not escape from a long tradition of thinking of us as Christ-killers and God murderers.

God-slayer n. [compare God-slaughter n. at Compounds 1a(a); compare earlier God-hater n. and also God-murderer n.; compare further deicide n.¹]

ΚΠ

1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (Coloss. i. 21) 262 Haters of God..and so God-slaiers.

1877 P. G. Medd Sermons viii. 81 He would be a God-slayer, too, if that were possible, and would sit alone and supreme over the wreck that he had made.

2005 J. Carey (title) Godslayer.

(b) With present participles and verbal nouns. See also God-fearing adj., God-loving adj.

God-adoring adj.

ΚΠ

1642 J. Vicars God in Mount 64 That pair royall of God-adoring Hebrews.

a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo in Wks. (1721) III. 326 A God-adoring Race.

2005 Pittsburgh Tribune Rev. (Nexis) 16 May The best illustration of a newly pious face with God-adoring oratory.

God-affronting adj.

ΚΠ

1660 T. Watson Beatitudes 233 Unbelief is a God-affronting sin.

a1693 M. Bruce Good News in Evil Times (1708) 10 The most God-affronting Perjury.

a1860 W. B. Weed Sermons (1861) xxxviii. 401 A self-polluted, God-outraging Adam was my father; and I his no less self-polluted, no less God-affronting son!

2008 Deadspin (Nexis) 11 Feb. For the rest of his God-affronting career.

God-bearing adj. [after Hellenistic Greek θεοτόκος (see Theotokos n.)]

ΚΠ

1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 210 We doe beleeve..that the wombe of the God-bearing Virgin, and the Temple of the holy Ghost, that is, her sacred body, to have beene assumed into heaven.

1885 W. de G. Birch Life King Harold Prol. 105 The glorious and God-bearing Cross.

1999 L. Kennedy All in Mind v. 99 At the Council of Ephesus..it was agreed that Mary should be deemed theotokos, literally God-bearing and therefore Mother of God.

† God-contemning adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1621 G. Sandys tr. Ovid First Five Bks. Metamorphosis i. 6 A God contemning Race [L. contemptrix superum], Greedie of slaughter.

a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 33/1 Men awless, lawless live..a God-contemning Race.

1854 Times 15 June 9/6 The punishment of God-contemning beings.

God-despising adj.

ΚΠ

a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 34/2 God-despising Wights.

1853 ‘M. Twain’ Let. 28 Nov. (1987) I. 29 I never..before saw so many whisky-swilling, God-despising heathens as I find in this part of the country.

2010 J. Leeman Church & Surprising Offense of God's Love i. i. 73 In our individualistic, skeptical, anti-authority, God-despising age, we are instinctively repulsed by the idea of being bound by anything.

God-detesting adj.

ΚΠ

a1711 T. Ken Hymnarium 111 in Wks. (1721) II. The Sin, which..from the God-detesting Spirit streams.

2002 Salon.com (Nexis) 14 Jan. The bitter, fantastic outbursts of his God-detesting old age.

God-disowning adj.

ΚΠ

1684 J. Main in Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 334 I declare it to be a horrid wickedness, a God-disowning and a God-daring course.

1895 J. Smith Perm. Message Exod. xv. 250 This God-disowning, good-defying spirit.

1968 K. Cragg Christianity in World Perspective v. 141 The world of self-centred, idol building, religious preening, God disowning, humanity to which we all belong.

2003 W. M. Swartley Homosexuality v. 83 Might western culture have become a God-disowning culture similar to that spoken of in Romans 1:18–32?

† God-dissembling adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1718 N. Rowe tr. Lucan Pharsalia 180 The wily, fearful, God-dissembling Maid.

1876 W. H. M. H. Aitken Ten Days' Mission (ed. 3) xii. 193 It is ‘working’ now—the apostle tells us—this God-dissembling power—‘Mystery of iniquity!’ the travesty of Divine Omnipotence, instituted by the malignant ingenuity of hell!

God-dreading n. and adj.

ΚΠ

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 29205 Þe gift o wijt, of vnder-standing, O consail, strenght, o gode dreding.

1906 Amer. Educ. Jan. 266/1 That God-dreading code of Blue Laws.

1988 Los Angeles Times 26 June (Bk. Review) 11/3 He..tells the God-dreading Lark, ‘It makes me sad you're sullen..because I know God hates sullen people.’

† God-estranging adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1667 J. Janeway Heaven upon Earth 353 Unbelief..is one of those dreadful and God-estranging sins, which leads on whole Legions against the Almighty.

1897 Presbyterian & Reformed Rev. 8 602 Sin is not with them the utterly vile, criminal, God-defying and God-estranging thing which it is with Paul and with John.

God-forgetting adj.

ΚΠ

1644 W. Barton Bk. Psalms 15 The wicked shall be turn'd to Hell, These God-forgetting men.

1850 T. Carlyle Latter-day Pamphlets iv. 39 Putrid unveracities and godforgetting greedinesses.

1883 Cent. Mag. Aug. 535/1 Benighted, bewildered, sniffing, sneering, God-forgetting unfortunates as we are?

2005 M. Lickona Swimming with Scapulars iii. 199 I am hoping that the shock of cold will rouse me from my God-forgetting material stupor.

† God-gastering adj. [ < god n. + gastering, present participle of gaster v.] Obsolete

ΚΠ

1603 S. Harsnett Declar. Popish Impostures 73 The God-gastring Giants, whom Jupiter overwhelmed with Pelion and Ossa.

1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders i. i. 20 They tell vs strange tales of god-gastering Giants, who heaped mightie mountains one vpon another.

† God-hymning adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

a1711 T. Ken Urania in Wks. (1721) IV. 448 God-hymning Saints.

1881 G. A. Jackson tr. in Fathers of Third Cent. II. 106/2 Sweet the life Of the God-hymning, O Christ Jesus.

† God-intenerating adj. [ < god n. + intenerating adj. at intenerate v. Derivatives] Obsolete

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a1711 T. Ken Urania in Wks. (1721) IV. 519 God-intenerating Pray'rs.

God-killing n. and adj. [with early uses compare God-murder n. at Compounds 1a(a) and also deicide n.²; in quot. 1877 after Maori tā atua ( < tā to strike + atua atua n.)]

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1674 E. Calamy et al. Saints Memorials 177 Sin is by some of the Antients called, God-murther, or God-killing.

1678 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iii. 65 Christ's crucifixion..was a sin..containing..God-killing bloud-guiltinesse.

1864 R. F. Burton Mission to Gelele I. 95 Thus there is a baptême de feu as well as a baptême d'eau; fire and water, to say nothing of the gauntlet, must combine to efface the god-killing crime.

1877 Trans. & Proc. N.Z. Inst. 1876 9 23 The literal sense of ‘ta atua’ being, god-striking or god-killing.

2010 S. Mebus Sorcerer's Secret xiii ‘Maybe I'll just take care of you!’ Kid Dropper cried, pulling out his god-killing knife and launching himself at Tweed.

God-making n.

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1546 J. Bale First Examinacyon A. Askewe f. 36^v We must now beleue in the bawdrye of prestes, or that their Sodometrye and Whoredome for want of marryage, can be no impediment to their Godmakynge.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 652 Art..in this matter of God-making, commonly gets the upper hand.

1906 Westm. Gaz. 27 Nov. 2/1 Then the pupils are painted in, and the process of god-making, or deification, is complete.

2007 L. Saintcrow Devil's Right Hand (end matter) It is the simplest and most basic form of godmaking, hardwired into the human neural net.

God-mocking adj.

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1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. vi. 328 A God-mocking equiuocation.

1899 Flaming Sword 9 June 8/2 Why, I think he would kick the whole hypocritical congregation into the street, blow the God mocking building at the moon, and then turn on the fireworks.

2010 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 17 June a11 What followed [Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion] was a spate of god-mocking volumes.

God-opposing adj.

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1643 J. Owen Θεομαχία Ἀυτεξουσιαστικη iv. 24 Their proud God-opposing errors.

1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 306 Amaziah and the God-opposing party.

2011 P. Copan Is God a Moral Monster? xiii. 146 The negative, sometimes God-opposing association bound up with the Old Testament use of the term foreigner.

God-resembling adj.

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1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion v. 76 Her god-resembling sonne [Achilles].

1802 C. Lamb John Woodvil ii. 49 All things that live, From the crook'd worm to man's imperial form, And God-resembling likeness.

1984 L. Dupré in G. P. Schner Ignatian Spirituality in Secular Age 18 The spiritual soul does not look for ‘God-resembling’ creatures. It embraces all beings with equal fervour: the high and the lowly, the good and the bad.

God-seeing adj. [originally (in quot. 1837) reflecting a false etymology of the personal name Israel (see Israel n.), which associates the name with Hebrew 'īš man, rā'āh to see, and ēl God (see bethel n.)]

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1837 R. Carlile Abstr. of Lect. to prove that Bible is Mythological Volume 12 The word Israel, signifies a sight of God, and, as a name applied to man, signifies a God-seeing man, or a student in physical science.

1876 A. Ransom tr. T. Keim Hist. Jesus of Nazara (ed. 2) I. 284 The priest and God-seeing prophet.

1892 J. Hutchison Our Lord's Signs i. 25 A believing God-seeing heart.

2001 W. M. Thackston tr. in Album Pref. & Other Documents 5/2 His God-seeing eye has opened the gates of paradise to his community through intercession.

c. Instrumental, locative, etc. (chiefly with past participles). See also godforsaken adj.

God-appointed adj.

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a1732 T. Boston Illustr. Doctr. Christian Relig. (1796) III. 76 Immodest apparel..God appointed apparel.

1832 W. Godwin Orphans of Unwalden (1835) xv. 150 This God-appointed sense of hearing.

1929 W. B. Yeats Winding Stair 11 And God-appointed Berkeley that proved all things a dream.

2005 Cincinnati Apr. 130/3 Pupils may be prepared to take their God-appointed places in the home, the church, the state, and their vocations or professions.

God-assigned adj.

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1842 E. A. Poe in Graham's Mag. Mar. 187/1 His greatness has its office God-assigned.

1894 C. L. Johnstone Canada 56 Carrying on the God-assigned task of conquering the earth.

2004 M. E. Snodgrass Encycl. Kitchen Hist. (2005) 231 Some clergymen, who believed kitchen work the god-assigned task of females.

† God-begot adj. Obsolete

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1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 4 All souls, impregned with spirit, God-begot!

1887 W. Morris tr. Homer Odyssey I. ii. 30 Odysseus, the God-begot.

1908 W. A. Gardner tr. Euripides Ion in In Greece with Classics i. 5 Never have I learned..That happiness to mortal's lot Hath been vouchsafed through offspring god-begot.

God-begotten adj.

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1600 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. (rev. ed.) f. 43 That horse of fame, that God-begotten steed.

1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer Odyssey (new ed.) i. 2 This wave-beset, wooded island is the domain of a God-begotten creature.

2000 D. A. Miller Epic Hero ii. 100 A complete difference between hero and birth mate appears when the god-begotten child is born with a human-begotten ‘twin’.

God-beloved adj.

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1610 R. Davies Chesters Triumph sig. B3 I am ariu'd (in happy time I hope) To finde this happy God-beloued Man.

1853 J. Stevenson tr. Bede Life St. Cuthbert in tr. Bede Hist. Wks 577 That..the sanctity of the God-beloved father [L. Deo dilecti patris] might be manifested to the faithful.

2012 Canwest News Service (Nexis) 7 June Your thriving garden of God-beloved dandelion flowers.

God-built adj.

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?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads viii. 114 Our god-built towres they see [Gk. θεοδμήτων ἐπὶ πύργων].

1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xiii. 1029 Your boasted City and your god-built Wall.

1736 J. Thomson Britain: 4th Pt. Liberty 297 The seeming God-built City.

2005 B. Kay in J. Ashley et al. Relevant Church i. 3 A God-built structure made up of other believers.

God-centred adj.

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1831 Fraser's Mag. Oct. 379 It led the year of the self-balanced mass, God-centred in the abyss, and girt with heaven.

1908 Westm. Gaz. 10 Dec. 2/3 Flowers of heaven!..wreathing The God-centred vision of all coming years!

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?

2007 New Yorker 3 Dec. 55/3 Their teaching, these critics say, is ‘me-centered’, rather than God-centered.

God-created adj.

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1832 T. Carlyle in Edinb. Rev. July 339 The man is provided..with a rational god-created soul.

1841 E. Miall in Nonconf. 1 97 An image..not God-created, but made by the hands of man.

1947 Life 14 July 13/2 The search into the God-created laws of nature and into the revealed truths of human character.

2009 Cambr. Evening News (Nexis) 25 Dec. Fear imprisons and distorts the God-created image in men and women.

God-descended adj.

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1656 A. Cowley Pindarique Odes 18 in Poems The great Acts of God-descended Kings.

1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. vi. 236 The..God-descended Chief.

1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. ii. §48. 159 Presently others of the god-descended race were similarly saluted.

1934 G. W. Russell House of Titans 4 Tell me our story, god-descended king, For we have dwindled down, and from ourselves Have passed away, and have forgotten all.

2004 T. Hartmann Last Hours of Anc. Sunlight (rev. ed.) 173 Kamikaze pilots enthusiastically gave their lives for the god-descended emperor.

God-deserted adj.

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1820 London Mag. Apr. 408/2 That dreaded recess, containing the Hebrew mysteries..is disclosed..to the God-deserted multitude!

1845 J. G. Whittier in Amer. Liberty Almanac 1846 26 And the solemn priest to Moloch, on each God-deserted shrine.

1900 Baptist Missionary Mag. July 307 These two villages amply repay all the money that has been spent in this apparently God-deserted country.

2007 Independent Extra (Nexis) 29 June Spanning New York and the Kremlin, Salt Lake City and a God-deserted heaven.

God-driven adj.

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1832 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 150/1 His god-driven flight thrice round the towers of the city.

1895 W. M. Ramsay St. Paul x. ii. 216 The usual type of God-driven devotees.

2012 Daily News (Bowling Green, Kentucky) (Nexis) 20 Sept. This is a God-driven program... It's bigger and more important than any one person.

God-empowered adj.

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1834 J. A. Stephenson Sword Unsheathed 25 The outward call alone, duly given, constitutes the man a God-empowered minister.

1906 N.Y. Observer 18 Oct. 507/2 A god-kindled and God-empowered soul can be trusted to take care of duty.

2012 Intelligencer Jrnl. (Lancaster, Pa.) (Nexis) 22 Sept. b5 The dynamic, transformational, God-empowered change the Bible describes should be happening in the church.

God-enamoured adj.

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a1711 T. Ken Wks. (1721) I. 129 Food to ev'ry God-enamour'd Mind.

1895 Jewish Q. Rev. 7 766 They yearned not for mortal progeny, but for the immortal which the god-enamoured soul is alone able to bring forth of itself.

1993 K. E. Børreson Women's Stud. of Christian & Islamic Trad. i. 81 After this procession of God-enamoured women, it is stimulating to consider the happily married Christine de Pizan.

God-enlightened adj.

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1839 G. Field Outl. Analogical Philos. II. iv. 346 The purely rational, or God-enlightened and perfectly cultivated mind.

1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 562 Let the God-enlightened soul go on [etc.].

1920 Homiletic Rev. 80 460 This much-talked-of infallible judgment of a God-enlightened, educated public.

1994 Buffalo (N.Y.) News (Nexis) 22 Nov. 2 Who knows what the presence of one God-enlightened person can produce?

God-entrusted adj.

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1852 T. Wilson in Tracts for Times No. 3. 16 The student who..sedulously napkins the God-entrusted talent by which he discerns between good and evil, light and darkness?

1864 E. B. Pusey Daniel ii. 61 Human power..has a majesty, lent it by God, even when it abuses the God-entrusted gift.

1904 Rec. Christian Work Sept. 739/1 One endowed with great faculties digs a hole in the earth, and buries the God-entrusted talent.

2010 L. Bevere Lioness Arising ix. 159 The God-entrusted message—God the Father is love, and his only begotten Son, Jesus, died to reconcile us.

God-fed adj. [after ancient Greek διοτρεϕής (see Diotrephes n.)]

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1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses iii. 34 Choisest meat, Which none but God-fed Kings [Gk. διοτρεϕέες βασιλῆες] eat.

1890 J. R. Lowell Writings 151 This have I mused on, since mine eye could first Among the stars distinguish and with joy Rest on that God-fed Pharos of the north.

2010 High Point Enterprise (N. Carolina) (Nexis) 23 May I know that BOTSO [= Brothers Organized to Save Others] is God-led and God-fed.

God-forbidden adj.

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1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 6 If the woman be naturally so of disposition, as will not help to remove..that same God-forbidd'n lonelines which [etc.].

1867 R. Broughton Not wisely, but too Well II. viii. 140 The angel with the drawn sword impeding the progress of his God-forbidden journey.

2011 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 9 Aug. 10 Let's pull up our stakes and get the hell out of this God-forbidden land that time has forgotten.

God-forgotten adj. [compare German gottvergessen (19th cent.; earlier in sense ‘having forgotten God’ (17th cent.)); compare earlier godforsaken adj.]

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1845 P. Jones My Uncle Hobson & I xii. 123 ‘Woe, woe, woe!’ shouted he, ‘to the God-forgotten inhabitants of this God-forsaken earth!’

1889 R. Buchanan Heir of Linne vi ‘A God-forgotten place’, he said at last, as the dog-cart stopped.

1999 Times 25 Jan. 20 (headline) ‘This is a God-forgotten place’, Russians are fond of saying.

God-formed adj.

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1854 J. A. Allen Day-dreams Butterfly iii. 73 In the God-formed plan Doth no rainbow span The broad ocean which separates time From eternity.

1888 A. J. Butler tr. Dante Paradiso ii. 17 The God-formed realm.

2006 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 24 Dec. a14 Bela his name was—four months old—this little God-formed shape.

God-gifted adj.

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1810 C. Lucas Joseph x. 252 Thee, whose firm look, God-gifted, closed the Lions' mouths.

1863 Ld. Tennyson Milton in Cornhill Mag. Dec. 707 God-gifted organ-voice of England.

1907 ‘D. Donovan’ Gold-spinner i. 1 ‘God-gifted and beautiful’ was Helga Arnold!

2003 Eastern Eye 14 Feb. 34/3 (advt.) I have a God-gifted ability to solve all your problems.

God-governed adj.

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1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Moralists ii. 150 In this case it is not a Self-govern'd, but a God-govern'd machine.

1896 A. Brown Mercy Warren vi. 138 This was the new scene, the God-given and God-governed theatre of action.

2003 C. Wilson in J. Miller & B. Inwood Hellenistic & Early Mod. Philos. 106 Moral abominations inappropriate to a God-governed universe.

God-hated adj.

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1643 J. Vicars Looking-glasse for Malignants 34 These notable Convictions and Confessions of the horrible and God-hated evill of your cause and cases.

a1868 A. I. Menken Infelicia (1883) 95 Turn back, ye Assassins! or wear on your foreheads For ever the brand of a God-hated race!

1927 W. B. Yeats October Blast 22 These God-hated children.

1998 J. V. A. Fine in A. Dundes Vampire 61 The leaders of the God-hated affair..were to receive forty strokes.

God-implanted adj.

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1837 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. Oct. 9 The high destinies of which every human soul contains the God-implanted germ.

1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 287 The natural God-implanted feeling is the germ of the spiritual.

1923 Pop. Mech. Mar. 359 Thoughtless, though well-meaning parents stifled and killed the natural inclination and individuality of promising, budding ambition, God-implanted.

1989 Hist. Today Feb. 56/3 The God-implanted rights of both property and benevolence.

God-inflicted adj.

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1865 J. S. Mill Auguste 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?

2005 Toronto Star (Nexis) 20 Oct. A convicted murderer..says it's the church that should be forced to compensate him for the God-inflicted damage wrought by His alleged crimes.

God-inspired adj.

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1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxiv. 86 That God inspired man, with heauenly goodnesse fild.

1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 271 God-inspired To utter truth.

1991 H. Gold Best Nightmare on Earth iv. 58 These ritual vévés, god-inspired flour drawings in the temple.

God-intoxicated adj. [after German gotttrunken (a1801 in the passage translated in quot. 1829)]

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1829 T. Carlyle tr. ‘Novalis’ in Foreign Rev. 4 130 Spinoza is a God-intoxicated-man (Gott-trunkener Mensch).

1839 H. W. Longfellow Hyperion I. ii. vi. 61 He is what the Transcendentalists call a god-intoxicated man.

1955 Life 31 Jan. 96/2 The Hindus have been called a ‘God-intoxicated’ people who see God in man and beast, stick and stone, fire and water.

2003 Vanity Fair Aug. 76 The god-inflamed and god-intoxicated enemies of the Republic.

God-loved adj.

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1839 T. Wade Prothanasia 65 Her cheeks blush'd at the color that bedevill'd Their god-loved paleness.

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 246 Grief must he hide..If he would be god-loved and conquering still.

1996 J. L. Nelson Frankish World p. xxi The place to celebrate the God-loved Franks.

God-made adj.

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1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 40^v Nor doe I boast my God-made Grandsires skarres.

1856 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters III. 147 Greatness in art..is..the expression of the mind of a God-made great man.

1994 C. McCarthy Crossing 426 After a while the right and godmade sun did rise, once again, for all and without distinction.

God-opposed adj. [after ancient Greek ἀντίθεος (see etymology at anti- prefix)]

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?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses xi. 169 Life yet made short their admirations; who God-opposed Otus [Gk. Ὠτόν τ' ἀντίθεον] had to name.

1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 336 The God-opposed world.

2010 T. W. Balderston Proven God 40 God-opposed groups are fighting..to keep God and the Bible..out of any public place.

God-ordained adj.

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1823 Bristol Mercury 29 Dec. A power de facto is a power God-ordained.

1897 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 31 Aug. 3/6 Women are the God-ordained instructors of youth.

2006 Christianity Today Sept. 106/1 The..Protestant Three Self Movement sent out pastors..to preach that unquestioning loyalty to the government..was God-ordained.

God-sent adj.

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1585 Parish Reg. St. Nicolas, Durham Margaret god sent daughter of Margaret Tayler [christened] Jun: 27.

1655 E. Gayton Upon Meeting of Sons of Clergy 4 Are God-sent Prophets Triumphs or Reproaches.

1884 ‘Rita’ Vivienne vi. i One of those God-sent chances which sometimes befriend us in our hours of peril.

1972 Recusant Hist. Jan. 187 Converts remained godsent in more senses than one.

2000 A. Rashid Taliban (2001) 58 For the Taliban it was a God-sent opportunity.

God-sped adj.

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1838 S. Bellamy Betrayal 61 Nor longer tarrieth, God-sped, and fain His course to finish.

1886 J. Ruskin Time & Tide 20 The wisely sharp methods of Godsped courage.

2011 Washington Post (Nexis) 17 Nov. d1 His supporters say he is streaking toward a God-sped destiny.

God-speeded adj.

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1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxii. 30 When shone an happier hour than thy god-speeded arriving [L. quid datur a diuis felici optatius hora?]?

1911 W. L. Reed Jumbles (Re-jumbled) 62 The gleam of a God-speeded sunbeam Shining out 'neath a brow worldly-wise.

2007 I. McDonald Brasyl 270 Godspeeded, I traversed a million worlds until an echo brought me up.

God-taught adj.

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1670 R. Cudworth Serm. 1 John ii. 3–4 in Disc. concerning Lord's Supper (ed. 2) 108 He is a true Christian indeed..that is God-taught.

1891 F. Hartmann (title) The life and doctrines of Jacob Boehme: the God-taught philosopher.

2006 J. J. Packer & C. Nystrom Praying 38 The authentic path of prayer expresses a God-taught commitment to a way of life.

† God-vouched adj. Obsolete

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1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 123 His God-vouched inheritance of Heaven.

a1904 W. P. Yeaman in J. C. Maple Life & Writings W. P. Yeaman (1906) IV. iii. 384 The civilized world is indebted to Baptists for the revolution that has been wrought in the interests of the natural and God-vouched rights of conscience.

God-wrought adj.

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1817 R. C. Sands Bridal of Vaumond viii. 97 While God-wrought chains his soul corrode.

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 24 Some god-wrought eagle-wings.

1998 L. Ryken et al. Dict. Biblical Imagery 756/1 Salvation refers to the God-wrought reversal of the sinner's denial of the Creator and the created order.

d. Limitative.

† God-unlike adj. [after godlike adj.] Obsolete

ΚΠ

1609 J. Davies Holy Roode sig. F3^v Wilt be so God vnlike, to see thy God Embrace the Whip, and thou abhorre the Rod?

God-bless v. [ < God bless (in God bless you! at bless v.¹ 9b)] rare transitive to say ‘God bless (you)’ to; also intransitive.

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1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xl. 165 To be..God-blessed..by one who carried ‘Sir’ before his name..was something for a porter.

1870 M. Arnold in Pall Mall Gaz. 29 Nov. 3/2 We heard the honest German soldiers Hoch-ing, hurrahing, and God-blessing in their true-hearted but somewhat rococo manner.

2003 Z. Packer Drinking Coffee Elsewhere 225 Hugging and God-blessing everyone in sight.

God bless int. [shortened < God bless you! at bless v.¹ 9b] used as a wish for God's blessing on a person or as an expression of goodwill, esp. at parting.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > [phrase] > for the sake of > wish for the benefit of (someone) > wish for someone's benefit

God bless1945

1945 M. Lowry Let. Dec. in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 496 Give Mother our best love & tell her we are writing her together today. Adios, God bless, Your brother, Malcolm.

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.

1999 G. Kissick Winter in Volcano (2000) i. 4 ‘Yes. I understand. Thank you, Sister. Goodbye.’ ‘Thank you, sir. Goodbye and God Bless.’

God-born adj. (also with lower-case initial) chiefly poetic and literary (a) (with reference to Greek or Roman mythology) born of a god or gods; of divine parentage or ancestry; (also with reference to Christ) born of God; (b) (of a thought, feeling, etc.) given by or proceeding from God (cf. God-given adj., God-sent adj. at Compounds 1c).

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1640 J. Gower tr. Ovid Festivalls i. 16 That god-born prince [L. nepos natusque dei] (although himself denie) His fathers weight shall manage piously.

1755 W. Dodd tr. Theocritus Encomium of Ptolemy in tr. Callimachus Hymns 198 Hail royal Ptolemy! equal to the race Of god-born heroes [Gk. ἡμιθέων], thee the Muse extols.

1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII lxi. 85 The Virgin Mother of the God-born child, With her son in her blessed arms, look'd round.

1843 Dial Apr. 422 The God-born idea is not an impulsion, but an inspiration.

1910 Outlook 24 Dec. 950 His baby hand shall give to earth All of a God-born Saviour's care.

1988 W. M. Wright & J. F. Power in P. M. Thibert tr. F. de Sales & J. de Chantal Lett. Spiritual Direction 14 The director then helped that person to learn to identify those promptings, to..propose possible practices that might encourage the free expression of those God-born impulses.

2000 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Nov. 22/3 In Greek theatre, Heracles was a..Geryon-bodied figure, with distinct genre characterizations for his appearances in tragedy (god-born culture-hero grappling with the limits of mortality) [etc.].

† god-bote n. Anglo-Saxon Law Obsolete (historical in later use) a fine payable to the Church in reparation for an injury or offence; cf. boot n.¹ 9.

ΚΠ

OE Laws of Æðelred II (Claud.) vi. li. 258 Gif for godbotan feohbot ariseð.., þæt gebyreð rihtlice, be biscpa dihte, to gebedbigene & to þearfena hyþþe.

1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) God-bote (Sax.), a Fine or amerciament for crimes and offences against God; also an Ecclesiastical or Church fine. [Also in later dictionaries.]

God-botherer n. depreciative (chiefly British, originally Military slang) a member of the clergy; any religious-minded person, esp. a proselytizing Christian.

ΚΠ

1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 338/2 God-botherer, a parson: Royal Air Force's: from ca. 1920.

1939 R. D. Q. Henriques No Arms, No Armour xiv. 395 He had been pretty close to becoming a God-botherer, a religious sort of bloke who made hell for everyone by insisting on a full attendance at Church parade.

1966 Times 22 Jan. 9/6 Missionaries, known locally to the unconverted as ‘devil-dodgers’ and ‘God-botherers’.

1966 K. Amis Anti-Death League (1967) ii. 147 ‘What do you think of the padre, Max?’..‘Not a bad chap for a God-botherer.’

2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 201 He wasn't..the first bluesman, pot-head, speed-freak or born-again God-botherer.

God-bothering n. and adj. depreciative (chiefly British, originally Military slang) (a) n. religious activity; the actions or behaviour of a God-botherer; (b) adj. religious; proselytizing; designating or characteristic of a God-botherer.

ΚΠ

1943 Gen. 30 Jan. 47/1 A church service held on board one of His Majesty's Ships is usually known as godbothering.

1968 Guardian 30 Apr. 6/1 Yes, the femme fatale, already saddled with lover and husband, fatally attracts the God-bothering young excise man.

1988 Observer 1 May 11/7 That fiendish old God-bothering father of hers, Alderman Whatsisname.

2009 R. C. Wood Preaching & Professing 125 To such humanists, all of our God-bothering is a foolish extravagance.

2010 Canberra Times (Nexis) 24 Oct. The blokes, down on their luck, were sometimes mildly disparaging of the Salvos [i.e. the Salvation Army], with their odd military-style hierarchy and ‘God-bothering’ ways.

God-box n. a thing or person imagined as containing God or a god; (formerly also depreciative) (probably) †a pyx; (slang) a church or other place of worship; (also) a church organ.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > sanctuary or holy place > [noun]

holinessc897

houseeOE

halidomc1000

ZionOE

God's houseOE

wike-tuna1250

saintuairea1300

sanctuarya1340

holy1382

entry?c1400

the Holy (Saint) Sepulchre (occasionally the Sepulchre)c1400

high placea1425

place of worship?1459

synagogue1490

God-box?1548

shrinea1577

bethela1617

prayer house1657

barn1689

bidental1692

altar1772

praying housea1843

?1548 J. Bale Image Bothe Churches (new ed.) iii. sig. Bb.viii The vessels of yuory comprehendeth al theyr maundy dishes, their offering platters their relique chystes, their god boxes, their drinking horns.

1874 S. J. MacKenna At School with Old Dragoon 235 He..bids the men squat down, and opens his god-box as the former shudderingly regard it.

1890 Freethinker 14 Sept. 440/1 R. B. Cunningham Grahame, M.P...speaks of chapel as ‘some dissenting god-box’.

1892 W. W. Gill S. Pacific & New Guinea 20 The priest, or ‘god-box’,..went through the needful prayers.

1923 C. K. Ogden & I. A. 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 J. 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.

1937 Amer. Speech 12 181/12 Godbox, organ.

1962 New Statesman 25 May 768/2 A ring-a-ding God-box that will go over big with the flat-bottomed latitudinarians.

1995 Faith Today Mar. 28/2 Through the Toronto Blessing our ‘God boxes’ have been stretched—smashed, if the truth be told.

1998 R. Stone Damascus Gate ii. xxix. 227 ‘So the tourist goes up into the choir loft to see who's at the keyboard, and who do you think he sees?’ ‘Fats Waller?’ ‘Hell,’ Lucas said. ‘You knew... So Fats says, “Just trying their God box, man”.’

God forbid n. [rhyming slang < God forbid : see forbid v. 2b] slang a kid, a child; see also quot. 1960; cf. Gawd-forbid n. at Gawd n. Derivatives.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > child > [noun]

wenchelc890

childeOE

littleOE

littlingOE

hired-childc1275

smalla1300

brolla1325

innocentc1325

chickc1330

congeonc1330

impc1380

faunt1382

young onec1384

scionc1390

weea1400

birdc1405

chickenc1440

enfaunta1475

small boyc1475

whelp1483

burden1490

little one1509

brat?a1513

younkerkin1528

kitling1541

urchin1556

loneling1579

breed1586

budling1587

pledge?1587

ragazzo1591

simplicity1592

bantling1593

tadpole1594

two-year-old1594

bratcheta1600

lambkin1600

younker1601

dandling1611

buda1616

eyas-musketa1616

dovelinga1618

whelplinga1618

puppet1623

butter printa1625

chit1625

piggy1625

ninnyc1626

youngster1633

fairya1635

lap-child1655

chitterling1675

squeaker1676

cherub1680

kid1690

wean1692

kinchin1699

getlingc1700

totum17..

charity-child1723

small girl1734

poult1739

elfin1748

piggy-wiggy1766

piccaninny1774

suck-thumb18..

teeny1802

olive1803

sprout1813

stumpie1820

sexennarian1821

totty1822

toddle1825

toddles1828

poppet1830

brancher1833

toad1836

toddler1837

ankle-biter1840

yarkera1842

twopenny1844

weeny1844

tottykins1849

toddlekins1852

brattock1858

nipper1859

sprat1860

ninepins1862

angelet1868

tenas man1870

tad1877

tacker1885

chavvy1886

joey1887

toddleskin1890

thumb-sucker1891

littlie1893

peewee1894

tyke1894

che-ild1896

kiddo1896

mother's bairn1896

childling1903

kipper1905

pick1905

small1907

God forbid1909

preadolescent1909

subadolescent1914

toto1914

snookums1919

tweenie1919

problem child1920

squirt1924

trottie1924

tiddler1927

subteen1929

perisher1935

poopsie1937

pre-schooler1937

pre-teen1938

pre-teener1940

juvie1941

sprog1944

pikkie1945

subteenager1947

pre-teenager1948

pint-size1954

saucepan lid1960

rug rat1964

smallie1984

bosom-child-

1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. Victorian Era 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).

1974 P. Wright Lang. Brit. Industry x. 89 You'll draw plenty of bees an' honey (money) if you have, say, five God forbids (kids).

1999 C. Breese Hutch (2001) xiv. 288 Hutch's old friends Harold and Leslie Berens agreed that he had been ‘into the god-forbids’, apt cockney rhyming slang for ‘kids’.

† god-home n. Obsolete the home of God or the gods; heaven, Asgard. [With reference to Scandinavian mythology (compare quot. 1876) after Old Icelandic goðheimr.]

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the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [noun]

bliss971

heavenOE

paradiseOE

towera1240

seatc1275

heavenwarda1300

Abraham's bosomc1300

tabernaclea1340

wonea1350

sanctuary1382

pasturec1384

firmament1388

sky?1518

Canaan1548

welkin1559

happy land1562

sphere?1592

heavenwards1614

afterworld1615

patria1707

god-home1848

overworld1858

the invisible1868

the world > the supernatural > deity > other deities > [noun] > northern > abode of

god-home1848

1848 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 3) 120 God-home and glory-land.

1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd iii. 216 A burg of people builded for the lords of God-home [Old Icelandic Goðheimr] meet.

1919 W. N. Guthrie Relig. Old Glory ii. iv. 129 The hosts of angels pursuing the demon of the storms do pass in triumph by the bridge from manhome to Godhome.

god-one n. rare a person who is God or a god.

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1843 E. B. Barrett Seraph & Poet in Graham's Mag. July 72/1 The seraph sings before the manifest God-one.

1918 E. Pound Poetry Feb. 270 His series of ‘prayers’—to the God-one, the god-couple, the god-house, the god-street, and so on—is extremely interesting.

1962 A. Norton Lord of Thunder i. 15 The reputed home of these God Ones was the high mountains of the northeast.

† God-saving adj. Obsolete rare of or relating to the greeting ‘God save you’; salutatory.

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1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H4^v This bumbast foile-button..after the God-sauing ceremonie, For want of talke-stuffe, falls to foinerie.

God-shaped adj. †(a) shaped or formed by God (obsolete rare); (b) designating a void in a non-believer's heart that is likened to the shape of God; (hence) designating a feeling of emptiness said to be experienced by a person who does not believe in God, (now) esp. in god-shaped hole.

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1840 P. J. Bailey in Monthly Mag. Apr. 397 Dreams are mind-clouds, high and unshapen beauties, Or but God-shaped, like mountains, which contain Much and rich matter.

1897 Rep. Board Agric. 1894–6 (State of New Hampsh.) 396 All have known..trees greatly damaged by a pruning which reminds one of butchery, and which in a lover of the beautiful God-shaped trees required a large amount of Christianity to prevent expressions unbecoming a gentleman.

1917 H. G. Wells God Invisible King iv. 84 The religion of the atheist with a God-shaped blank at its heart and the persuasion of the unconverted theologian, are both like lamps unlit.

1930 J. F. Newton Things I know in Relig. 22 Not only is God implied in our very thought, He is affirmed in our denials, and without Him we are left with a God-shaped void in our hearts.

1954 R. Macaulay Let. 31 Jan. in Last Lett. to Friend (1962) 143 Always one felt in one's soul what someone has called ‘the God-shaped hole’, where God has once been, or will be, or (anyhow) ought to be.

2010 Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. 21 Mar. c3/5 Some people say there is a God-shaped hole in us that only God can fill.

god shelf n. [after Japanese kamidana (see kamidana n.)] in a traditional Japanese household, a high wooden shelf serving as an altar for the worship of kami (Shinto gods), on which are typically placed a miniature Shinto shrine, paper amulets or charms, and offerings of food and drink; this shelf and its contents considered together.

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society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > vessel (general) > shrine > [noun] > Shinto

miya1727

kamidana1873

god shelf1876

1874 E. Satow in Trans. Asiatic Soc. Japan 2 114 In every Japanese house there is kept what is called a kami-dana, or ‘shelf for gods’.]

1876 F. V. Dickins in tr. Chiushingura 171 (note) 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.

1880 I. L. Bird Unbeaten Tracks Japan II. 359 In nearly all Japanese houses there is a kami-dana or god-shelf, on which is a miniature temple in wood.

1905 D. B. W. Sladen Playing the Game xii They are never too poor to have a little light burning on the god-shelf.

1997 J. Bowker World Relig. 105/3 (caption) They are usually placed on a Buddhist altar, or butsudan, or on the ‘god shelf’, or kamidana, at home, to protect and bring good fortune to the family.

God slot n. [compare slot n.² 6] a period in a broadcasting schedule regularly reserved for religious programmes.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > broadcasting > a broadcast programme or item > [noun] > types of

news bulletin1857

news summary1875

police message1886

newsflash1904

headline1908

play-by-play1909

feature1913

spot ad1916

magazine1921

news1923

time signal1923

outside broadcast1924

radiocast1924

amateur hour1925

bulletin1925

serial1926

commentary1927

rebroadcast1927

school broadcast1927

feature programme1928

trailer1928

hour1930

schools broadcast1930

show1930

spot advertisement1930

spot announcement1930

sustaining1931

flash1934

newscast1934

commercial1935

clambake1937

remote1937

repeat1937

snap1937

soap opera1939

sportcast1939

spot commercial1939

daytimer1940

magazine programme1941

season1942

soap1943

soaper1946

parade1947

public service announcement1948

simulcasting1949

breakfast-time television1952

call-in1952

talkathon1952

game show1953

kidvid1955

roundup1958

telenovela1961

opt-out1962

miniseries1963

simulcast1964

soapie1964

party political1966

novela1968

phone-in1968

sudser1968

schools programme1971

talk-in1971

God slot1972

roadshow1973

trail1973

drama-doc1977

informercial1980

infotainment1980

infomercial1981

kideo1983

talk-back1984

indie1988

omnibus1988

teleserye2000

kidult-

1972 Fortnight 13 Apr. 23/3 Vastly more enjoyable, though no God-slot for Easter Sunday, was to see tiddly-winks champion Nimmo in Las Vegas.

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..could lead to the disappearance of the ‘God slot’, the so-called ‘closed period’ for religious programmes on television.

2010 Church Times 10 Sept. 28/2 The psychologist Nicholas Humphrey had an angry response published to Mary Medgley's ‘Faith and Reason’ godslot.

God squad n. slang (originally U.S. University slang) (the members of) a religious organization, esp. an evangelical Christian group; those representing religious interests.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > sect > Christianity > person > [noun] > fervent

God squad1962

society > faith > worship > preaching > evangelization > [noun] > one who evangelizes > collectively

God squad1962

1962 Jrnl. Educ. Sociol. 35 206 The Christian Student Movement..had been..an esoteric little group, meeting in piety, and contemplating the navel. They were referred to as the ‘God Squad’ on the campus.

1969 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 3 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.’

2002 Independent on Sunday 20 Oct. (Review Suppl.) 31/2 (heading) The other week this God squad woman asked me about morals.

god-stick n. (a) = joss-stick n. at joss n.¹ Compounds 2 (now rare); (b) (with reference to certain traditional cultures of Polynesia and East Asia, now esp. the Maori people of New Zealand) any of various types of carved wooden stick or peg used in religious rituals to represent a god, or in which a god is believed to dwell.Maori god-sticks are typically carved with a stylized representation of a face or head.

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the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fragrance > [noun] > fragrant substance or perfume > incense

rechelseOE

storc1000

incensec1290

censea1382

guma1382

olibanuma1398

thus1398

frankincensea1400

frank14..

thurec1425

mascle thure?1440

olibanc1440

smoke1530

perfume1542

masculine frankincense1555

tacamahac1577

cayolac1588

masculine gum1604

candle1628

pastille1630

Spanish coal1631

incense-frank1633

thymiama1697

censery1823

punk1844

joss-stick1845

god-stick1874

society > faith > artefacts > consumables > incense > [noun] > cylinder of

joss-stick1845

god-stick1874

agarbatti1884

1874 Year-bk. Pharmacy 609 Perhaps it would be interesting to mention how the little joss or god sticks are manufactured.

1884 E. Greey Bear-worshippers of Yezo p. vii The bearded savage in the lower corner is an Aino whittling inaho (god-sticks).

1889 Woman's Work for Woman July 178/1 They are called joss-sticks, a name given by the Portuguese, doubtless meaning ‘dios’ or god-sticks.

1897 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 Sept. 2/1 Whenever a Siyot acted as mountain guide, or forded a river, he expressed his gratitude for safety by adding a quota [of little rags] to the ‘god-stick’.

1900 A. Hamilton Art Workmanship of Maori Race in N.Z. v. 416 These three wooden pegs show the form of the god-sticks without the sinnet wrappings.

1902 E. A. Gordon Temples of Orient i. 6 The use of Joss-sticks (i.e. god-sticks) in China; ‘Joss’ being the Chinese pronunciation of the Portuguese Deus.

1967 Cal. Art Inst. Chicago No. 4. 8/1 Although it was not easy to borrow carvings from Hawaii, some exceptional godsticks and figures have been gathered from various collections.

2002 D. Oliver Polynesia in Early Hist. Times iii. xxiv. 228/1 Some gods were capable of resting temporarily in certain natural objects.., or more commonly in carved stone figures and man-made ‘god-sticks’.

God-talk n. theological discourse; (also) conversation or discourse about one's faith or God in general.In later use often with negative connotations.

ΚΠ

1962 Jrnl. Relig. 42 260/2 In trying valiantly but vainly to make God-talk intelligible to people of an empirical temperament, Wilson has altered in a very radical way the very language game in which God-talk is at home.

1973 Times 21 July 14/4 No religion, Christian or other, can ever be fully understood from outside, and this must apply also to its God-talk.

1986 Toronto Star (Nexis) 5 Dec. (Sports section) b2 I had an irate call from a Star subscriber, protesting that this God talk has no place on the sports pages.

2010 C. E. Smidt et al. Disappearing God Gap? viii. 228 Did religious voters respond to the ‘God-talk’ and the religious outreach of the Democratic Party?

god tree n. any of several trees that are regarded as sacred or as a gift of a god, esp. the bo tree, Ficus religiosa, of South and South East Asia, and the deodar cedar; (also) a mythical tree regarded as a god. [Originally (with reference to the bo tree; compare quots. 1681 and 1778) after Sinhala bogaha tree of (the Buddha's) enlightenment (see bo tree n.), with a European misinterpretation of the Buddha as a god (perhaps reinforced by the use of Pali deva- ‘god-, divine’ as an honorific, e.g. for Buddhas ( < Sanskrit deva god: see deva n.)). In quot. 1833 after Sanskrit devadāru, lit. ‘timber of the gods’ (see deodar n.).]

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the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > specific thing as > tree as

god tree1681

tree-goddess1895

tree-god1905

tree-deity1911

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > trees or shrubs yielding fibre, etc. > silk-cotton trees

gossipine1589

gossampine1601

cotton tree1670

god tree1681

silk-cotton tree1712

kapok1735

semul1809

ceiba1810

wool-tree1831

bombax1834

munguba1863

cabbage wood1885

1681 R. Knox Hist. Relation Ceylon 18 This tree they call Bogahah; we the God-Tree.

1778 J. Abercrombie Universal Gardener & Botanist at Ficus Sacred Fig, or Indian God-tree..is held in great veneration in India.

1833 Penny Cycl. I. 34/1 Abies Deodara, the Sacred Indian Fir. The Hindoos call it the Devadara or God-tree.

1837 J. C. Loudon Gardener's Mag. Dec. 592 Even the untutored children of Africa are so struck with the majesty of its appearance, that they designate it [sc. Eriodendron anfractuosum] the God tree.

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.

1990 D. Carrasco Relig. Mesoamer. iv. 100 According to Tzutujil mythology there existed a god in the form of a tree... This god-tree became pregnant with potential life as the creation of the universe approached.

2008 R. C. Bisht Internat. Encycl. Himalayas v. 144 There are historical records that describe a God Tree in western Ngari, Tibet.

C2. Compounds with God's.The postmodifier of God has replaced, or is more commonly used than, the genitive in a number of expressions in which it was formerly usual, such as God's friend, God's lamb, God's mother, God's son, God's word, etc.: see the nouns.Also God's acre n., God's good n., God's house n., God's penny n.

a. Rhetorically placed before a noun, either to stress the special connection between God and the item denoted, or simply for emphasis.

God's Anointed n. see anointed n.

God's church n. [probably after post-classical Latin ecclesia Domini (3rd cent.)] the (Christian) Church, or a particular denomination of it; (also) the community of God's people.

ΚΠ

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Corpus Oxf.) v. xvii. 456 Se cyning geleornade þæt he symble rihte regolas Godes cyricean [L. catholicas ecclesiae regulas] fyligde & lufade.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1093 On his broke he Gode fela behæsa behet: his agen lif on riht to lædene & Godes cyrcean griðian & friðian.

c1400 Last Age of Church (1840) 31 Þe synnes bi cause of whiche suche persecucioun schal be in Goddis Chirche.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 436 In the Oold Testament God ordeyned oon bischop to be aboue in reule..and so to alle the clergie in Goddis chirche being thanne.

1596 T. Bell Suruey Popery (title page) A succinct and profitable enarration of the state of Gods Church.

1623 G. Fletcher Reward of Faithfull ii. iv. 194 All which rocks of danger & ill husbandry religion..neuer suffers any that saile in Noahs Arke, I meane in Gods church for want of a right steering their vessels to run foule vpon.

1797 in A. Kilham Methodist Monitor I. 272 But as there are rulers, so there are rules for God's church.

1863 J. M. Cox Church on Rock vi. 127 From the first beginning of her history, the state of God's Church on earth has been ever one of conflict.

1937 Crisis Oct. 317/2 Segregation in God's church will continue in America and in South Africa.

2008 Third Way Oct. 23/1 My prayer, my hope for God's church is to be God's church, to be true to itself.

God's creatures n. animals, or humans and animals, considered collectively.

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1786 ‘A. Pasquin’ Royal Academicians 43 If they were not the most stupid assemblage of all God's creatures, they would instantly expel him.

1822 J. Hogg Three Perils of Man III. i. 36 I see nae right ony o' God's creatures hae to be hurlbarrowed out o' their standing.

1921 J. M. Whitham Heretic vi. 47 'Tidn't Christian to boil God's creatures if 'ee bain't a-going to eat en... Such ropery!

2003 X-Ray May 17/2 The utilisation of God's creatures to further the careers of fraudulent software package-sponsored, so-called electronic musicians must stop.

God's earth n. the earth; frequently in on God's (dear or green) earth.

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1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries i. 138 b There were but 200 Spaniardes laid on Gods deare earth.

1595 G. Peele Old Wiues Tale sig. D4^v The veriest vixen that liues vpon Gods earth.

1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 74 Till..he be layd flat on Gods deare earth.

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xxx. 108 There was not a viler fellow upon God's earth, than me.

1844 Waukesha (Wisconsin Territory) Chronotype 15 June 1/4 Crucifixion..not for a big name on the lips of all ages—but for foot-hold upon God's Earth?

1898 Argosy Aug. 166 A more villainous collection of desperadoes never blighted God's earth.

1905 L. Woolf Let. 16 July (1990) 96 He..spent the whole morning in trying vainly to make his room not the foulest & hugest filthpacket on God's earth.

1922 S. Lewis Babbitt xx. 255 Now, here's Paul, the nicest, most sensitive critter on God's green earth.

1982 N. Boyd Three Victorian Women 90 One last gigantic effort to turn God's dear earth into hell.

2006 M. O'Farrell Vanishing Act Esme Lennox 188 There is no way on God's earth I would consider him any relation to me.

God's people n. (a) a people or nation regarded as especially favoured by God; spec. the Israelites, Jewish people; (b) (esp. in a Christian context) people belonging to, or under the care of, God; people who worship or believe in God.

ΚΠ

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xiii. xi. 659 Goddis peple made no ioye, but [satte and] wepte and made mone.

c1405 (c1375) G. Chaucer Monk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 502 Goddes peple hadde he [sc. Anthiochus] moost in hate.

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Ellesmere) (1877) §760 Thilke þat thou clepest thy thralles been goddes peple. for humble folk been cristes freendes.

c1455 Speculum Misericordie in PMLA (1939) 54 952 (MED) Hee dede goddys peple pursewe To harme.

1551 T. Lever Serm. xiiii. December (new ed.) sig. D.iii^v Theyre preachyng can neuer diswade, to set and ordeyne ryche robbers and ignoraunt teachers ouer the Chrysten congregacion, goddes people, the kynges subiectes.

1606 W. Birnie Blame of Kirk-buriall ix. sig. C3 Pharao Cenchres (that drowned King of Egypt) who hauing a sepulchrall Pyramide elabored by the panefull taske of Gods people.

a1771 J. Gill Compl. Body Doctrinal & Pract. Divinity (1796) I. 495 All the sins of God's people are remissible, and are actually remitted.

1845 J. M. Neale in Mirror of Faith xix. 68 And others told of the river old, that let God's people pass.

1903 Med. Missionary Sept. 215/1 Every son of humanity is a child of God, hence we are all God's people, and God cares for us and will not cast us off.

1979 Newsweek (Nexis) 12 Mar. 91 He takes care of those who need him, God's people all: the pornographer, the drunken cripple, the blind waiter.

1997 R. M. Brown Speaking of Christianity iv. xviii. 121 Where was the God of Sinai, of Abraham and Sarah.., when six million of God's people, including over a million children, were being exterminated?

2012 Times (Nexis) 7 Apr. 99 We have begun to dream about how it [sc. a new cathedral] will give glory to God and inspire God's people.

God's plenty n. plenty, great abundance.In recent use, probably originally with allusion to quot. 1700.

ΚΠ

1550 T. Becon Fortresse of Faythfull sig. Ji^v When other perished for lacke of dryncke, he hadde Gods plentye & inoughe, as they vse to saye.

1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. B3 There were sweet Lillies Gods plentie, which shewed faire Virgins need not weepe for wooers.

1670 F. Boothby Marcelia iv. vii. sig. I.3^v I'le neither fight nor be beaten for any woman, as long as there's God's plenty of them in the world.

1700 J. Dryden Fables Pref. sig. *C^v 'Tis sufficient to say according to the Proverb, that here is God's Plenty.

1722 O. Dykes Royal Marriage 230 But she seems to be a more real Cornucopia in Deed, abounding also with God's Plenty.

1856 C. L. Hentz Ernest Linwood xviii. 127 Oh, starver in the midst of God's plenty!

1907 Classical Philol. 2 201 Not that there is any lack of numeration in those copies—there is God's plenty of it.

1991 R. Rogers Self & Other i. 3 When it comes to selecting explanatory frameworks in the field of object relations theory, there is God's plenty to choose from.

God's poor n. now rare the poor regarded as entrusted by God to the care of the devout.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > poor people or the poor

waedlec888

needfula1200

needya1225

poorc1225

God's poorc1230

porailc1325

porailsa1425

povertya1450

poorality1536

God's poverty1563

miserable1582

necessitous1622

necessitated1638

ptochocracy1831

fallen1878

worse off1890

po'1945

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 134 Þus bid ure riwle þet we schawin to gode freond as oþre godes poure doð hare meoseise wið milde eadmodnesse.

a1325 St. Sebastian (Corpus Cambr.) l. 68 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 18 (MED) Aliue ich am ȝute her Hol and sond wiþoute wonde to ssewe Godes poer.

c1535 Ploughman's Tale ii. sig. B.ii^v Of goddes poore they haten gestes.

1673 T. Gouge Surest & Safest Way of Thriving 41 Till thou comest in good earnest to be of this mind, God's poor are like to be but little the better for thee.

1700 W. Sherlock Serm. upon Several Occasions ix. 246 Preference..to God's Poor, whom the Divine Providence has made Poor, to the Poor of their own Making.

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’.

1936 E. Goudge City of Bells ix. 234 Here lived those people referred to by the Dean as the Lower Orders and by Grandfather as God's Poor.

† God's poverty n. Obsolete rare = God's poor n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > poor people or the poor

waedlec888

needfula1200

needya1225

poorc1225

God's poorc1230

porailc1325

porailsa1425

povertya1450

poorality1536

God's poverty1563

miserable1582

necessitous1622

necessitated1638

ptochocracy1831

fallen1878

worse off1890

po'1945

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Keeping Clean Church 86 Not forgettyng to bestowe our almes vppon Goddes pouertie [1623 poore].

God's quantity n. colloquial a large amount; an abundance.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount

felec825

muchc1230

good wone1297

plentyc1300

bushelc1374

sight1390

mickle-whata1393

forcea1400

manynessa1400

multitudea1400

packc1400

a good dealc1430

greata1450

sackful1484

power1489

horseloadc1500

mile1508

lump1523

a deal?1532

peckc1535

heapa1547

mass1566

mass1569

gallon1575

armful1579

cart-load1587

mickle1599

bushelful1600–12

a load1609

wreck1612

parisha1616

herd1618

fair share1650

heapa1661

muchness1674

reams1681

hantle1693

mort1694

doll?1719

lift1755

acre1759

beaucoup1760

ton1770

boxload1795

boatload1807

lot1811

dollop1819

swag1819

faggald1824

screed1826

Niagara1828

wad1828

lashings1829

butt1831

slew1839

ocean1840

any amount (of)1848

rake1851

slather1857

horde1860

torrent1864

sheaf1865

oodlesa1867

dead load1869

scad1869

stack1870

jorum1872

a heap sight1874

firlot1883

oodlings1886

chunka1889

whips1888

God's quantity1895

streetful1901

bag1917

fid1920

fleetful1923

mob1927

bucketload1930

pisspot1944

shitload1954

megaton1957

mob-o-ton1975

gazillion1978

buttload1988

shit ton1991

1895 B. Perry Plated City xix. 354 We've got a stock company, and the rights, and the irrigating canal, and any God's quantity of land.

1911 C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling xxviii. 242 There was God's quantity of fish.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 280 Big foxy thief..lifted any God's quantity of tea and sugar.

1946 D. Du Maurier King's Gen. xxii. 213 Had I command of unlimited forces and possessed God's quantity of ammunition, a bombardment of three days would reduce Plymouth to ashes.

God's truth n. and int. colloquial (a) n. the absolute truth (also with the and as a count noun); also God's honest truth; (b) int. used as an oath.This compound use is distinguished from the simple, literal use ‘true doctrine revealed by or attributed to God’; see, for example, quot. 1737 at sense A. 5a.

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1734 Proc. Old Bailey 10 July 151/1 What I swear, is upon the Truth, and God's Truth.

1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. ii. xiv. 192 Now, Sir master of mine, is not this God's truth.

1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 162/1 Na, for that matter, it's a God's truth, that at the dead hour of midnight..I heard her speaking to herself.

1865 J. R. Lowell in Atlantic Monthly June 796 ‘Chance wun't stop to listen to debatin'!’—‘God's truth!’ sez I.

1882 Rep. Select Comm. 153 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (47th Congr., 1st Sess.: Senate Rep. 878) IV Now, you may not believe me, but this is God's honest truth.

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) That there's God's truth, nif tidn I an't got a thick stick in my hand!

1896 Evening News (Sydney) 13 May 7/1 ‘Why, God's truth,’ said she, ‘I've forgotten the tay! Now to think o' that!’

1902 O. Wister Virginian x. 111 In admittin' yourself to be a liar you have spoke God's truth for onced.

1951 S. H. Bell December Bride i. vii. 46 To tell ye the God's truth, Agnes, I'm a very worrit man, and I don't know what way to turn, at all!

2006 Daily Mail (Nexis) 31 Jan. The agent..said he had ‘never been asked for, been offered, or given a backhander, and god's truth I don't know anyone who has’.

2010 J. McGregor Even Dogs (2011) iv. 128 Steve's done his time and that's the God's honest truth.

b. With intensifying adjective own, conveying the pre-eminence of what is referred to by the noun, or (esp. in later use) simply for emphasis. Frequently in God's own (good or sweet) time, esp. with reference to something which takes a long time or is done in a leisurely manner.Earliest in God's own country n. at Compounds 2c.God's own (good) time frequently occurs (from an earlier period) in the literal sense ‘a time appointed by God’.

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1807 Monthly Rev. Feb. 152 By Jasus, your honour! you're right there; it is God's own country.

1892 Harper's Mag. Feb. 432/1 A bottler of spring water advertises it as ‘God's own liver remedy’.

1929 L. M. Salmon Why is Hist. Rewritten? ii. 24 ‘Daylight saving time’ has divided society into hostile camps, one demanding the return to ‘God's own time’, without explanation of the applicableness of the descriptive term chosen.

1941 M. Allingham Traitor's Purse xx. 228 Amanda was God's own gift to anyone in a hole.

1948 N. Coward Diary 10 Jan. (2000) 101 Arrived at station, fortunately in good time. God's own monumental balls-up over reservations.

1979 Tucson (Arizona) Citizen 20 Sept. 9 a/2 He's taking God's own sweet time to do everything.

1985 W. Sheed Frank & Maisie xi. 253 The ex-Catholics would, he hoped, wander back in God's own good time.

2009 Toronto Star (Nexis) 21 Dec. a20 Grant was one of God's own rogues.

God's ape n. †(a) a fool (obsolete); (b) a person who mimics God, chiefly in the proverb the devil is God's ape.

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a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 906 How ofte hastow..seyd þat loues seruantz euerychone Of nycete ben verray goddes Apes.

1553 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Eneados iv. Prol. 21 Ȝour trew suardis [bene] silly goddis apis.

1595 W. Covell Polimanteia sig. B1^v Now Satan desiring in this to bee Gods Ape, (thereby the better to abuse the world).

1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore sig. G2^v They that draw shapes, And liue by wicked faces, are but Gods Apes, They come but neere the life.

1607 S. Hieron Spirituall Sonne-ship in Wks. (1620) I. 360 The diuell is Gods ape, and seekes to counterfeit Him almost in euery thing.

1792 W. Huntington Forty Stripes save None for Satan Pref. p. iii Christian Reader, I think I may call Satan God's Ape.

1868 H. W. Longfellow John Endicott i. i. in New Eng. Trag. 12 Ye verify the adage That Satan is God's ape!

1958 C. S. Lewis Refl. on Psalms x. 106 That is why we call him God's Ape; he is always imitating God.

2007 S. Clark in A. Molho et al. Finding Europe iv. 120 The Christian devil was ‘God's ape’, constantly seeking to be honoured in ways that corresponded exactly but inversely with those of the true religion.

† God's band n. [ < the genitive of god n. + band n.¹] Obsolete a binding obligation or injunction; spec. the bond of marriage.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > marriage vows or bonds > [noun] > marriage or wedding bond

knota1225

benda1250

spousing bandc1275

God's banda1425

marriage bond1595

marriage knot1595

marriage noosec1600

noosec1600

marriage tie1664

bridal knot1679

marriage chain1679

the shackles1780

wedding-knot1902

a1425 Templum Domini in R. Cornelius Figurative Castle (Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr Coll.) (1930) 108 (MED) Þe fende..gan fande To tempe Adam..And made hym for to breke gods bande.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iv. 41 Hyr dochter..Wes coupillyt in-to Goddis band With Walter stewart off Scotland.

† God's board n. Obsolete the altar, as the place where Holy Communion is received.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > altar > [noun] > communion table

altarOE

God's boarda1200

boardc1200

communion table1549

table1550

communion board1553

altela1555

a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 311 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 229 Al þat me radeð and singed bifore godes borde, Al hit hangeð and halt bi þese twam worde.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 235 Hi serueþ at godes borde of his coupe, of his breade, and of his wyne.

c1425 Myrour to Lewde Men & Wymmen (Harl.) (1981) 197 Þei serueþ at Goddes bord and eteiþ of his brede & drinkeþ of his cuppe.

1538 Iniunctions for Clerge (single sheet) They ought not to presume to come to goddes boorde without perfite knowlege of the same.

1620 T. Gataker Mariage Praier 13 The vndue manner of the repairing euen of such to Gods board.

a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) ii. 104 A fair white Linnen-Cloth, to cover God's Board.

God's body n. now archaic and rare the sacramental bread. [Compare post-classical Latin corpus Domini (late 2nd or early 3rd cent. in Tertullian) and also corpus Christi (see Corpus Christi n.).]

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > consumables > eucharistic elements > bread > [noun]

fleshc1000

ofleteOE

mannaa1200

breada1225

bread of lifea1300

host1303

bodya1325

obleya1325

God's bodya1387

cakec1390

singing bread1432

bread of wheata1450

singing loaf1530

God's bread1535

bread god?1548

round robin?1548

holy bread1552

singing cake1553

Jack-in-the-box1554

wafer-cake?1554

wafer1559

wafer-bread1565

breaden god1570

mass cake1579

wafer-god1623

hostel1624

maker1635

hostie1641

oblata1721

altar bread1839

prosphora1874

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 313 A wenche..fenge Goddes body [L. communionem sanctam] an Ester day.

1451 in A. Clark Lincoln Diocese Documents (1914) 50 I will the prior..haue the Box for goddes body.

1549 J. Ponet Def. Mariage Priestes sig. Cvii ^v He hadde the same day sayde masse (which he called the makynge of Gods body).

2012 M. Rubin in I. C. Levy et al. Compan. to Eucharist in Middle Ages iii. 448 He made God's body at the altar, and offered communion to deserving parishioners once a year.

God's book n. the Scriptures, the Bible (in plural in Old English).

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > [noun]

Holy Writc900

writeOE

God's bookOE

writOE

bookOE

Biblea1300

holy lettrurec1330

scripturec1330

the (sacred or holy) writings1340

gospel1393

worda1425

escripture1489

Holy Write1508

theologya1513

the written word1533

Book of God1548

oracle1548

hand biblea1680

good book1740

sacred book1782

the sacred volume1850

bibliotheca1879

Kitab1885

OE Blickling Homilies 21 Gehyron we nu..hwæt awriten is on Godes bocum.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16900 Þe depe lare off godess boc.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7181 Godes boc.

1548 H. Latimer Notable Serm. sig. A.ii All thinges that are written in Goddes boke.

1635 D. Dickson Short Explan. Hebrewes vi. 28. 144 As manie Plagues as are written in God's Booke.

1863 Prophetic Times Jan. 14/2 The question between us and our opponents is..one of grammar and exegesis, as applied to the ascertainment of what God's book teaches.

1978 Third Way 6 Apr. 3/1 Prophecies..were written down and included in God's book.

2004 J. MacDonald God wrote Bk. (rev. ed.) iii. 79 There are still three more benefits you can receive from God's book.

God's chest n. now historical a receptacle (in the Jewish Temple or a church) for money given for charitable purposes. [Compare Middle Low German gōdeskiste, gōdeskaste, German Gotteskasten (1522 in Luther, now historical).]

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > furniture > other furniture > [noun] > treasury

corbana1400

God's chest1535

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Mark xii. 41 Iesus sat ouer agaynst the Gods chest & behelde how the people put money in to the Gods chest.

c1600 Will of William Littlebury (Essex Rec. Office: D/P 26/25/19) [Gives £10 to] Godes chest [in Dedham Church].

a1891 W. Walker in Pioneers of Ceylon (1897) 109 The people that stood by the temple door With wonder gazed as they saw the wealth pour Into God's chest from the hoarded store.

1999 C. McIntosh tr. B. Roeck in O. P. Grell et al. Health Care & Poor Relief in Counter-Reformation Europe xiii. 287 There were complaints that the parish's God's Chest, donated long ago by the citizens, had been united with the Jesuits' chest.

God's country n. a country regarded as especially favoured by God; spec. the United States, or some particular part of the United States; cf. God's own country n.

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1709 tr. C. J. Poncet Voy. Æthiopia 16 This is a Plentiful Country, and..the Inhabitants have given it the Name of Beladalla, that is to say God's Country [Fr. païs de dieu].

1722 I. Kimber et al. Hist. Eng. I. vii. 155 Pope Urban..by a zealous Harangue, animated the Prelates..to excite the Faithful to take up Arms for the Recovery of God's Country.

1865 R. H. Kellogg Life & Death in Rebel Prisons 118 I was willing to work hard, if I could only get out of that horrible den, into God's country once more.

1890 G. W. Perrie Buckskin Mose (new ed.) xv. 218 The memory of the little woman I had left behind me in the East, or ‘God's country’.

1904 ‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings xvii. 298 A man had better be in God's country living on free lunch than there.

1906 H. D. Pittman Belle of Bluegrass Country i. 1 I entered ‘God's Country’, as the natives call that portion of Kentucky which lies within a radius of thirty miles of Lexington.

1946 E. B. Thompson Amer. Daughter 10 We can work for..a real home.., out in God's country!

1960 B. Keaton My Wonderful World of Slapstick iv. 65 (heading) Back home again in God's Country.

1995 Denver Post 2 July b1/1 A passenger on the leg from Atlanta to Jackson informs everyone, ‘You're headed into God's country now.’

† God's-daughter n. Obsolete rare a person's soul.

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OE Homily (Junius 85) in A. M. Luiselli Fadda Nuove Omelie Anglosassoni (1977) 169 Ic [sc. the soul] wæs Godes dohter and ængla swystor.]

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 292 He mordryth goddys dowȝter, þat is, his owen soule.

God's day n. a day or period of time belonging especially to God; spec. †the Day of Judgement, †Easter Day, or the Sabbath; (also) eternity. [With reference to the Day of Judgement after post-classical Latin dies domini (Vulgate); compare day of the Lord at day n. 11a.]

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 270 Prope est dies domini, gehende is godes dæg.

OE Homily: Larspel & Scriftboc (Corpus Cambr. 421) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 244 Oððæt se eahtoða dæg cymð; þæt is domes dæg, þæt is se eca dæg.., godes dæg and ealra halgena dæg.

?a1500 Sermo in die Pasche in R. T. Hampson Medii Ævi Kalendarium (1841) II. 122 [The Paschal Day] in sum place is called Estern Day, in sum place Pace Day, and in sum place Goddis Day.

1652 E. Benlowes Theophila xii. xcvii. 231 Time in Eternities immense Book is But as a short Parenthesis..Gods Day is never-setting Bliss.

1695 E. Pelling Pract. Disc. conc. Redeeming of Time ix. 104 For 'tis not how long, but how well a Man lives, which God considers; nor is it his Years, but his Works, that will be regarded in God's Day.

1797 J. Bowdler Reform or Ruin (ed. 2) 28 How many..spend God's Day in doing their own business, or in jaunting about, or in getting drunk; though it is expressly ordered,..that we shall keep it holy!

1899 K. Chopin Awakening xiii. 91 It must always have been God's day on that low, drowsy island, Edna thought.

1964 Life 25 Dec. 7/2 The paradox is that this pattern will not be fulfilled or verified in history, but only in the suprahistorical event called God's day, the end of time.

2007 R. Saxen Good Eater iii. 30 On God's day there was no sunshine, there were no birds singing, no gentle breeze in the trees—no beauty.

† God's eye n. Obsolete (rare before 19th cent.) †(a) (probably) clary, Salvia sclarea (cf. oculus Christi n.) (obsolete); (b) English regional germander speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Scrophulariaceae (figwort and allies) > [noun] > Veronica or speedwell

lemkea1300

God's eye?a1350

waterlink?a1425

brooklimea1450

fluellin1548

Paul's betony1548

wood-penny1570

water pimpernel1575

ground-hele1578

speedwell1578

wild germander1578

germander chickweed1597

leper's herb1600

lime-wort1666

water purpy1683

water-speedwell1690

beccabunga1706

rock speedwell1719

Welsh speedwell1731

germander speedwell1732

St. Paul's betony1736

vernal speedwell1796

wall speedwell1796

cat's-eye1817

wellink1826

skull-cap1846

forget-me-not1853

veronica1855

angels' eyes1862

horse-cress1879

faverel1884

St. Paul's betony1884

?a1350 in T. Hunt Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 124 [Gallitricum] godes-eie.

1870 Notes & Queries 26 Mar. 325/2 In confirmation of the latter derivation..may be cited ‘Angels' eyes’ and ‘god's eye’, two Devon names for this lovely little plant [sc. Veronica chamædrys].

1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. God's eye, Veronica officinalis. If any one plucks it, his eyes will be eaten.

1913 N. L. Britton & A. Brown Illustr. Flora Northern U.S. (ed. 2) III. 201/2 Veronica Chamaèdrys... Other English names are..angel's-eye, god's-eye.

1920 W. E. Brenchley Weeds of Farm Land xiii. 225 Veronica chamædrys... germander speedwell, god's eye, lady's thimble, etc.

God's-eye view n. [after bird's eye view n. 1] a view as might be seen by God; a view from a very exalted, or high and remote, position.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > [noun] > view or scenery > general or extensive

prospect1538

respect1542

general1612

lookout1779

panorama1802

synopsis1844

God's-eye view1865

1865 J. G. Holland Plain Talks 257 A great city is a huge living creature... If we could be lifted above it, and obtain, not a bird's-eye view, but a God's-eye view of it, we should see its arteries throbbing with the majestic currents of life.

1920 A. Huxley Limbo 137 He prided himself on being able to see the thing as a whole, on taking an historical, God's-eye view of it all.

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.

2006 Time Out N.Y. 26 Oct. 111/4 We see underwater swarms of sea anemones, early biplanes taking off and landing with a cute bounce, God's eye views from the Space Shuttle.

† God's flower n. Obsolete an everlasting flower; spec. Helichrysum stoechas.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > composite flowers > everlasting or immortelle

yellow amaranth1551

gold-flower1578

mothwort1578

God's flower1597

golden cudweed1597

golden mothwort1597

moth-weed1597

aurelia1598

everlasting flower1610

everlasting1633

helichrysum1664

yellowheads1712

immortal herb1731

xeranthemum1736

eternal flower1785

immortelle1832

strawflower1924

1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 522 Golden Flower is called in Latine Coma aurea..in English Golde Flower, Gods Flower, and Golden Stœcados.

1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words 23/1 Amaránto giállo, Goldilockes, Gods-flowre, or Gold-flowre.

1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 539/1 God's flower, Helichrysum Stœchas.

† God's guest n. Obsolete a stranger, a casual visitor.

ΚΠ

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xvi. l. 199 Mynstralcie can ich nat muche bote make men murye..and welcome godes gistes [MS gustes].

c1535 Ploughman's Tale iii. sig. C.ii On the poore they woll nought spende Ne no good gyve to goddes gest.

† God's image n. Obsolete the human body.After Genesis 1:27: ‘God created man in his owne Image, in the Image of God created hee him’ (King James Bible).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > [noun]

lichamc888

bodyeOE

earthOE

lichOE

bone houseOE

dustc1000

fleshOE

utter mana1050

bonesOE

bodiȝlichc1175

bouka1225

bellyc1275

slimec1315

corpsec1325

vesselc1360

tabernaclec1374

carrion1377

corsec1386

personc1390

claya1400

carcass1406

lump of claya1425

sensuality?a1425

corpusc1440

God's imagea1450

bulka1475

natural body1526

outward man1526

quarrons1567

blood bulk1570

skinfula1592

flesh-rind1593

clod1595

anatomy1597

veil1598

microcosm1601

machine1604

outwall1608

lay part1609

machina1612

cabinet1614

automaton1644

case1655

mud wall1662

structure1671

soul case1683

incarnation1745

personality1748

personage1785

man1830

embodiment1850

flesh-stuff1855

corporeity1865

chassis1930

soma1958

a1450 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Douce 295) v. xiv. f. 116 Dispise þou noth godes ymage be ony dedly synne.

1837 Parl. Deb. 3rd Ser. 38 922 Many in that House were old enough to have seen God's image sorely mangled..for what were termed political offences.

1920 Christian Advocate 23 Sept. 1274/1 What can spoil God's image more than a sullen, covetous temperament?

God's kichel n. now English regional (East Anglian) a kind of cake (perhaps originally one given in charity).With quot. c1410 cf. note at kichel n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > cake for specific occasion > others

God's kichelc1410

christening cake1682

moon-cake1688

birthday cake1802

feast cake1845

burial-cake1864

yuan hsiao1945

c1410 (c1395) G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale (Harl. 7334) (1885) l. 1747 Ȝif vs a busshel whet or malt or reye A goddes kichil [c1405 Hengwrt Kechyl] or a trip of cheese.

1598 T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer 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.

1957 Times 16 Dec. 11/5 I was told in Suffolk these Christmas Eve cakes are known as ‘God's Kitchel’.

2007 Harwich & Manningtree Standard (Nexis) 31 May Their blessing..was given, together with a small cake called a God's kitchel.

God's man n. a man devoted to the service of God, esp. a saint or minister of religion. [Compare Old Frisian godesmon , Middle Low German gōdesman , German Gottesmann (14th cent.), and also Old High German gotman . Compare also man of God n. at man n.¹ Phrases 2t and the discussion at that entry.]

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > [noun]

God's maneOE

priestOE

clerkc1050

secularc1290

vicary1303

minister1340

divinec1380

man of Godc1384

kirkmana1400

man of the churchc1400

cockc1405

Ecclesiastc1405

spiritual1441

ministrator1450

abbé1530

reverend1547

churchman1549

tippet-captain?1550

tippet knight1551

tippet man1551

public minister1564

reading minister1572

clergyman1577

clerk1577

padre1584

minstrel1586

spiritual1600

cleric1623

cassock1628

Levite1640

gownsman1641

teaching elder1642

ecclesiastic1651

religionist1651

crape1682

crape-gown-man1682

man in black1692

soul driver1699

secularist1716

autem jet1737

liturge1737

officiant1740

snub-devil1785

soul doctor1785

officiator1801

umfundisi1825

crape-man1826

clerical1837

God-man1842

Pfarrer1844

liturgist1848

white-choker1851

rook1859

shovel hat1859

sky pilot1865

ecclesiastical1883

joss-pidgin-man1886

josser1887

sin-shiftera1912

sin-buster1931

parch1944

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxvi. 352 Þa geswearc se Godes mon semninga.

a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 266 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 228 (MED) He..nolde ihere godes men [v.r. godes sonde] þan he sat at his biede.

c1330 in T. Wright Polit. Songs Eng. (1839) 329 He shal be lad into the halle..And Godes man stant ther oute.

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 3588 Spak to þaim þe goddis man.

1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake II. xiv. 232 ‘Shall we burst open the door and kill them all?’ asked Sigtryg, simply. ‘No, King—no. They are God's men; and we have blood enough on our souls.’

2001 Ebony Aug. 50/2 Minister/author Betty Ruth Price..is..the author of..Standing by God's Man, which details her many experiences as a pastor's wife.

God's marks n. now historical and rare plague spots (see plague spot n. 1a); cf. God's token n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > scar > of plague or smallpox

pitOE

pock frecken1530

God's marks1531

pock hole1552

pitting1593

pock-arr1611

pockmarka1646

pock-fret1652

plague-stripe1714

1531 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 105 He had a pestylensse sore in hys throtte, and a blayne under hys lefte erre, and also was full of Godys markys.

1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 40 A very good remedy agaynst the markes of the plage, commonly called Goddes markes [Fr. Tre-bon remede contre les taches de peste, ou pourpre].

1662 J. Hoddesdon Hist. Sr. Thomas More vi. 46 Although after she was thereby throughly awaked, Gods marks and evident undoubted tokens of death plainly appeared upon her; yet she..miraculously recovered.

1665 R. Kingston Pillulæ Pestilentiales 14 In our Language we style the Pestilence the Visitation of God, and the Tokens thereof God's Marks.

2002 W. Viereck in J. Berns & J. van Marle Present-day Dialectol. 125 With regard to disease, the following Christian motivations were among those I found in the British Isles:..God's marks or God's tokens for marks of the plague.

God's own country n. a country or region regarded as especially favoured by God; spec. (a) New Zealand (cf. Godzone n.); (b) the United States, or some particular part of the United States. Compare God's country n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States

states1776

United States1776

Yankee-land1803

God's own country1807

U.S.1834

Yankland1834

yankeedoodledom1845

Yankeedom1851

the land of the free1884

land of opportunity1948

U.S. of A.1973

the mind > emotion > pleasure > happiness > supreme or heavenly happiness > [noun] > place of supreme happiness

heaveneOE

Edena1225

paradise?a1300

Garden of Eden1535

eutopia1553

happy land1562

Arcady1590

Hesperidesa1592

Elysiuma1616

God's own country1807

lotusland1856

Adamless Eden1876

summerland1895

Shangri-La1941

1807God's own country [see Compounds 2b].

1892 in R. Bailey & H. Roth Shanties (1967) 82 Give me, give me God's own country (from a spieler's point of view), Where the scripper and the sharper conjugate the verb ‘to do’.

1893 T. Bracken Lays & Lyrics 5 I am doing very well here [i.e. in Australia] but I would much sooner live on a far smaller salary in ‘God's own Country’.

1914 G. Atherton Perch of Devil i. 43 They always come home..talkin about..God's Own Country, and the Big Western Heart.

1926 J. Devanny Lenore Divine ii. 20 Richard John Seddon..the popularly acclaimed uncrowned king of the land he himself had named ‘God's Own Country’.

1978 B. E. G. Mason Awatea (rev. ed.) App. 110 E te iwi pakeha! You God's-own-country scum!

2012 Guardian 7 Aug. (Features section) 3 With its golden beaches, majestic moors and spectacular architecture, it [sc. Yorkshire] fully deserves its billing as ‘God's own country’.

† God's sand n. [ < the genitive of god n. + sand n.¹] Obsolete God's dispensation; what is ordained or sent by God, spec. worldly possessions (cf. God's good n.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > worldly or secular property > regarded as God's gift

God's sandOE

God's gooda1425

God's send1629

OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 62 He com ða þurh Godes sande to þære foresædan byrig.

c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 120 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 110 We wollen us onder-stonde Þat heo is in-to þis londe i-come, it is godes sonde.

a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 21 (MED) Alle þe oþer pouraille..mihten be ful blyþe ant þonke godes sonde.

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 219 Ye haue ynogh pardee of goddes sonde.

a1450 York Plays (1885) 109 With synne was I neuer filid, Goddis sande is on me sene.

a1500 Tale of Basin in M. M. Furrow Ten 15th-cent. Comic Poems (1985) 53 A riche man wex he..And knowen for a gode clerke þoro Goddis sande.

God's send n. †(a) = God's sand n. (obsolete); (b) = godsend n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > worldly or secular property > regarded as God's gift

God's sandOE

God's gooda1425

God's send1629

the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > an advantage, benefit, or favourable circumstance > a benefit > as sent from God or heaven

God's gift1586

God's send1629

godsend1779

heaven-send1811

1629 Z. Boyd Balme of Gilead i. 36 Magicians of Egypt called the plague the finger of God, or Gods send.

a1679 J. Brown Life of Faith (1726) ii. xv. 127 We should make the Cross of Christ welcome, because it is God's Send.

1701 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland 37 The more ignorant People construct this as a favourable Providence to them, therefore they call these wracks, God's send, tho not so favourable to the poor Mariners and others who suffer thereby.

1765 Scots Mag. Nov. 614 On the 30th the vessel was drove on shore in the parish of Mochrum; where it was no sooner known, that a God's send (as they call it) had come in there, than men, women, and children, flocked to the shore.

1820 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 28 Oct. 986 It has been a perfect ‘God's send’ to us. It has been so much of clear gains.

1856 J. Redmond Let. 4 Dec. in J. Rees Fishery of Arklow (2008) ii. 38 When I began my mission here a wreck was a God's send & to speak against wrecking was a heresy.

1956 Amer. Motorcycling Sept. 33/2 Just a note in appreciation to you and your organization, for the replacement of blood donated to me by your club. It was truly a God's send to me and my family.

2011 K. V. Williams My Enemy's Tears 321 Ah Rebecca, what would I do without you and your sisters to help me?.. A God's send, you are.

God's Sunday n. now historical Easter Day.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in

EastereOE

Easter DayOE

Easter SundayOE

pasch dayc1175

resurrectionc1300

Great Dayc1350

pace daya1425

God's Sundaya1500

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 131 This day ys called Godis Sonday; for Crist, Godis sonne of Heuen, þys day roos from deþ to lyue.

?a1500 Sermo in die Pasche in R. T. Hampson Medii Ævi Kalendarium (1841) II. 184 Þis is callede in some place Astur Day; & in sum place Pasche Day, & in summe place Godeis Sunday.

1835 Weekly Visitor 22 Sept. 351/1 By a record of the year 1511, it appears that the hall fire was discontinued at Easter-day, then called God's Sunday.

2012 Carmarthen Jrnl. (Nexis) 4 Apr. 56 In ancient times, Easter Sunday itself was known as the ‘Great Day’ or the ‘Feast of Feasts’. In parts of Britain it was also known as ‘God's Sunday’.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	god
释义	godn.int. Brit. /ɡɒd/, U.S. /ɡɑd/ Forms: α. early Old English go (Mercian, transmission error), early Old English gotho (plural, rare), Old English geode (dative, transmission error), Old English geodes (genitive, transmission error), Old English godedes (genitive, transmission error), Old English (rare) Middle English–1600s godd, Old English–early Middle English goð (perhaps transmission error), Old English–early Middle English (rare) (1600s in representations of Welsh English) cod, Old English– god, late Old English gedes (genitive, transmission error), late Old English gode- (in compounds), late Old English goden (dative, perhaps transmission error), early Middle English ȝod, early Middle English ȝodd, early Middle English got, early Middle English goðð (perhaps transmission error), Middle English godde, late Middle English gottys (genitive), 1500s gos (genitive); chiefly North American (colloquial and regional) 1800s– gahd, 1900s– gaahd; also Scottish pre-1700 godd; also Irish English (Wexford) 1800s gud. β. Old English (rare) Middle English–1500s good, early Middle English ȝode, Middle English goed, Middle English goid, Middle English gooddes (plural), Middle English guodes (genitive, perhaps transmission error), Middle English–1600s gode, late Middle English goodyse (genitive), late Middle English goyd; U.S. regional 1800s– gord; Scottish pre-1700 goid, pre-1700 1900s– gode, 1800s– goad. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian god, Old Dutch god (Middle Dutch, Dutch god), Old Saxon god (Middle Low German got, (inflected) gōd-, godd-), Old High German got (Middle High German got, German Gott), Old Icelandic guð, goð, Norn (Shetland) go,Old Swedish guþ (Swedish gud), Danish gud (already in early modern Danish), Gothic guþ (usually abbreviated as ḡþ) < a Germanic base of uncertain origin (see note). Further etymology. The further etymology is very uncertain. The underlying Germanic base has been explained as a derivative (with the Germanic base of -ed suffix¹) of the zero-grade of either of two possible Indo-European verbal bases: (i) the (unsuffixed) base of yet v. with the underlying meaning ‘pour’ (used here with reference to poured sacrifices or libations), or (ii) a base with the meaning ‘to invoke’. With (i) perhaps compare Sanskrit huta poured in sacrifice, sacrificed and the similarly-formed (or perhaps cognate) ancient Greek χυτός poured (out), fluid. The base of (ii) is apparently reflected by Sanskrit hū- to invoke (a god) (ablaut variant of hve- to call, summon; compare also puru-hūta , lit. ‘much-invoked’ or ‘invoked by many’, epithet of Indra), Old Irish guth voice, Old Church Slavonic zŭvati to call out, invite, name; this interpretation has often been favoured, but it poses phonological problems. Compare also Gaulish gutu- (in gutuater priest), Lithuanian žavėti to charm, practise magic, which may derive in a similar way from either of these Indo-European bases. Inflection in Old English; variation in gender. In Old English both a strong masculine and a strong neuter (the difference in gender apparently being to some extent semantically motivated: see below); a weak genitive plural form godena (Northumbrian godana ) is also occasionally attested, but the word does not otherwise show weak inflection. The Germanic word was apparently originally strong neuter (a -stem), and it has been hypothesized that the change in gender to strong masculine (a -stem) was a direct consequence of its adoption by the Church as a Christian term, in order to distinguish the personal Judaeo-Christian God from the impersonal pagan gods. The inflectional history of the word in the various Germanic languages appears to show a pattern in which the (original) neuter gender tends to be associated with the pagan gods, while the (later) masculine gender is associated with the Judaeo-Christian God. Gothic guþ (plural guda ) preserves the endings of a strong neuter noun, although it has masculine grammatical agreement (except when referring to the pagan gods). Old Icelandic guð (also goð ) can be both neuter and masculine (the nominative form without -r shows its neuter origin, while the plural forms are respectively unchanged (neuter) and with masculine endings -ar , -ir ); it is generally neuter when used of the pagan gods, and masculine when used of the Judaeo-Christian God (in later Icelandic there is semantic differentiation of the phonological variants, with goð (neuter) applied only to the pagan gods, and guð (masculine) reserved for the Judaeo-Christian God). In West Germanic the word is usually strong masculine; Old English god is regularly masculine with reference to the Judaeo-Christian God, and either masculine or neuter when used in the plural (respectively godas and godu ) with reference to the pagan gods; Old High German got is usually masculine even when referring to the latter (masculine plural gota ; however compare the compound helligot (neuter plural), lit. ‘gods of hell’, translating Latin mānēs manes n.). See further D. H. Green Lang. & Hist. Early Germanic World (1998) 14–16. With the use of a neuter noun to denote pagan gods compare classical Latin nūmen (see numen n.). Use in names. The base is a common element in Germanic personal names, compare e.g. Old English Godgifu , Godrīc , Godwine , Old High German Gotafrid , Gotahilt , Old Icelandic Guðmundr , Guðrún , Goðormr , Burgundian Godemund , Gothic (Ostrogothic) Guduin . Form history and euphemistic variation. In Old English the word is often collocated with the formally identical but etymologically unrelated word gōd good adj., good n., and the two words are not always easy to distinguish (compare discussion at good adj., n., adv., and int.). Rare occurrences of the form good in Old English (see β. forms) may result from confusion of this kind. The association of the two words continues in later English, sometimes leading to the deliberate euphemistic substitution of forms of good n. for god n. (frequently in oaths); such substitution is found in several modern regional varieties, especially in Scots (compare good n. 3). It is nevertheless likely that the majority of Middle English (and later) β. forms show a genuine lengthening of the stem vowel, probably arising originally from open syllable lengthening in oblique (disyllabic) forms; pronunciations reflecting the lengthened form gode are attested in modern English regional and nonstandard use, e.g. J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. (1905) 464/1 records the pronunciation /ɡoːd/ from east Devon. (The suggestion made in N.E.D. (1900) that the motivation for lengthening may perhaps have been expressive, i.e. ‘from a desire to utter the name of God more deliberately than the short vowel naturally allows’, is unlikely.) A later (early modern English) lengthening is shown by Gawd n. The modern Scots forms goad, gode at β. forms probably represent the half-close realization of short ŏ typical of many varieties of Scots. From Middle English onwards, especially in oaths (see Phrases 3a, Phrases 3b), the word is subject to extensive euphemistic alteration and substitution (a preference for forms and pronunciations originally regional or nonstandard); compare e.g. ad n.², cock n.⁶, Cod n.⁴, cops int., cots n., Cuds n., dod n.¹ and int., Gad n.², gar int., Ged n.², Gog n.¹, goles n., golly int., gom n.³, gosh n., gosse n.¹, gud n., gum n.⁵, od n.¹ and int., Ud n., Uds n. Likewise, in oaths sometimes (especially until the 19th cent.) written with dashes representing suppressed letters, so as to avoid the charge of taking God's name in vain. In Jewish contexts often written G-d , in imitation of the non-vocalized spelling of the name of the Jewish God in Hebrew, and in recognition of the prohibition against pronouncing it (compare discussion at Jehovah n.). Modern capitalization patterns for this word (compare notes at A. 1a and A. II.) only became well established during the 18th cent. Other words for ‘god’. For an alternative early word for a (pre-Christian) god compare Old English ōs and its Germanic and Indo-European cognates discussed at Aesir n. With branch A. II. compare (in Judaism) Adonai n., Elohim n., Jehovah n., and (in Islam) Allah n. A. n. I. In uses relating to polytheism, and senses derived from this. 1. a. A superhuman person regarded as having power over nature and human fortunes; a god (use in the singular usually refers to a being regarded as male (cf. goddess n.), but in the plural frequently used to refer to male and female beings collectively). Chiefly applied to the divinities of polytheistic systems; when applied to the Supreme Being of monotheistic belief, this sense becomes more or less modified: see sense A. 6b.In its application to the objects of polytheistic worship, the word often receives a colouring derived from the predominant monotheistic uses, and is apprehended as a transferred use, ‘a god’ being regarded as a supposed being put in the place of God, or an imperfect conception of God.This sense has been affected by the pagan uses of Latin deus and Greek θεός, of which god is the usual translation. Thus, in Greek mythology, the gods are distinguished from the daemons 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 human. The analogy of this nomenclature is often followed in speaking of existing polytheistic religions.The word is now normally written with a small initial, but when the point of view of the worshipper is to any extent adopted, a capital is sometimes used.Frequently as the second element in appositive compounds, as boy-, bull-, fish-, monkey-, warrior-god, or in compounds of which the first element indicates the sphere of activity or patronage, as fire-, household, nature, sky-, thunder-, wine-god: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] godeOE deityc1374 higher powerc1384 princec1384 divinityc1386 governorc1400 powerc1425 numen1495 fear1535 heaven1554 godheada1586 godhood1586 landlorda1635 supreme1643 supercelestial1652 supernal1661 universality1681 father1820 unspeakable1843 Molimo1861 Mlimo1897 superperson1907 somebody up there1972 sky fairy1997 eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xcv. 5 Quoniam omnes dii gentium daemonia : forðon alle godas ðioda ðioful. OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 98 Ge habbað manega godas and manega gydena [L. multorum deorum dearumque], we soðlice wurðian ænne soðne god. OE Ælfric Homily: De Falsis Diis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 708 Þar wæs gehende an hæþen tempel, gehalgod þam gode þe wæs gehaten Apollo. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2695 Æðes we sulleð þe swerien..uppen ure godd [c1300 Otho god]..þe is icliped Dagon. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 299 Fogous [MS Fogronis]..ordeyned temples to worschip þe false goddes ynne; þerfore he was acounted a god amonge hem þat worschipped suche goddes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 780 (MED) Als godds suld ȝee seluen be. a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 7357 (MED) When þe kyng herde hym nemne a God, He asked þenne how þey trowd. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 125 Our hegh goddes Wold be wrothe at our werkes. ?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 71 They conteyne the wicked actes and whoredomes of the Goddes. 1588 T. Hariot Briefe Rep. Virginia sig. E2^v They beleeue that there are many Gods which they call Montoac, but of different sortes and degrees. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 115 That's a braue God, and beares Celestiall liquor. View more context for this quotation 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1176 By combat to decide whose god is God, Thine or whom I with Israel's Sons adore. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 141 Audacious Youth, what madness cou'd provoke A Mortal Man t' invade a sleeping God ? View more context for this quotation 1713 A. Pope in Guardian 10 June 488 A Poet should never call upon the Gods for their Assistance, but when he is in great Perplexity. 1752 E. Young Brothers i. i, in Wks. (1757) II. 212 I do not think at all; The gods impose, the gods inflict, my thoughts. 1841 M. Elphinstone Hist. India I. ii. iv. 205 Some changes are made by the Jáins in the rank and circumstances of the Hindú gods. 1842 T. B. Macaulay Horatius in Lays Anc. Rome 47 Lars Porsena of Clusium By the Nine Gods he swore That [etc.]. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 300 Surely no man this is, But some god weary of the heavenly bliss. 1903 Smart Set 9 114/2 Oh, dear Sahiba, the gods are very wise and terrible! 1966 E. Amadi Concubine iv. 18 Igwe could not collect these things and to ward off the wrath of the gods the villagers ejected him from the village. 2011 C. Lemoy Across Pacific 169 Human sacrifices were necessary to calm the angered gods. b. With postmodifying of-phrase or (now archaic) premodifying genitive indicating the department of nature, or human activity or passion, over which a particular god is thought to rule.In this use the reference, unless there is indication to the contrary, is usually to classical mythology, the gods 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 or Ares. the god of love: Cupid or Eros. the god of wine: Bacchus. ΚΠ eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 323 Nec Bachus, ne wines god. eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 205 Vlcanus, fyr oððe fyres god, hellesmiþ. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 124 O thou Cupide, O thou Venus, Thou god of love, and thou goddesse, Wher is pite? 1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 161 A God of batylle, mars. 1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 9^v Apollo god of learninge. 1590 E. Spenser Muiopotmos 315 The God of Seas..strikes the rockes with his three-forked mace. a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) i. i. 281 Plutus the God of Gold Is but his Steward: no meede but he repayes Seuen-fold aboue it selfe. View more context for this quotation 1641 T. Heywood Life of Merlin xxx. 291 But warres god By sword, nor Hermes with his charming rod Shall ought prevaile. 1656 A. Cowley Pindarique Odes 38 in Poems Apollo is not onely the God of Physick, but of Poetry, and all kinde of Florid Letters. 1731 C. Coffey & J. Mottley Devil to Pay i. ii. 11 Come, jolly Bacchus, God of Wine, Crown this Night with Pleasure. 1789 W. H. Brown Power of Sympathy i. 11 Hail gentle God of Love! Encircled as thou art with darts, torments, and ensigns of cruelty, still do we hail thee. 1807 J. Barlow Columbiad ii. 89 Hail us children of the God of day. 1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche i. xiv. 6 Her comely boy, The limber scion of the God of War. 1912 E. Pound tr. G. Cavalcanti Sonnets & Ballate 117 Meseemed love's god connived at its completeness. 1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist v. 264 Thoth, the god of writers, writing with a reed upon a tablet. 1951 Speculum 26 43 So strong is his desire for this little ‘primerole’ that he readily swears homage to the God of Love. 1958 C. Achebe Things fall Apart iii. 14 I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku, the god of yams. 2005 Delicious Nov. (Flavours of India Suppl.) 4/3 On the first night of Diwali, Yama, the god of death, is welcomed with a solitary flame. c. Prefixed (without article) to the name of a god. Also: prefixed to the name of a person likened to a god (rare). ΚΠ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 43 (MED) Sche..lygh and seide þat god Mars hadde i-brouȝt hir wiþ childe [L. a Marte se gravidatam esse mentita est]. c1450 J. Metham Palmistry (Garrett) in Wks. (1916) 84 Thales Mylesyes..be the ansqwere off god Appollo, fyrst dyd wryte the syens off cyromancy in the langage of Parce. 1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 216 A monstir maid be god [1568 grit] Mercurius. 1565 B. Googe tr. ‘M. Palingenius’ Zodiake of Life (new ed.) x. sig. LL.vi God Pluto then tell me quoth I why syste thou here so sad? 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. iii. 130 Like god Bels priests in the old church window. View more context for this quotation 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 169 Yet god Achilles still cries excellent. View more context for this quotation 1694 M. Tindal Let. conc. Trinity & Athanasian Creed ix. 32/2 You as much distinguish God the Father from God the Son, or God the Spirit, as ever they did God Jupiter from God Neptune, or God Pluto. 1712 E. Ward Quack-vintners 22 Nor can God Bacchus to the World commend A better Vintner, or a truer Friend. 1841 H. D. Thoreau Let. 8 Sept. in Lett. Var. Persons (1879) 7 I, who am going to be a pencil-maker to-morrow, can sympathize with God Apollo, who served King Admetus for a while on earth. 1914 Amer. Catholic Q. Rev. Apr. 289 ‘How great art thou, O god Apollo!’ he cried. 1991 M. S. Screech tr. M. de Montaigne Essays ii. ii. 385 To drink in the French style at both meals, but moderately for fear of your health, is too great a restraint on the indulgence of god Bacchus. 2. An image or object (as a plant or an animal) worshipped as symbolizing or constituting the visible habitation of a divinity or as itself possessing divine power; an idol. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > idol godeOE anlikenessOE stockc1000 mammetc1225 Mahometc1275 Mahoundc1275 idola1325 simulacre1382 marmoseta1398 mammetrya1400 puppet1534 poppet?1548 block1570 Dagona1572 pagoda1582 pagody1588 Mokisso1634 poppet deitya1641 pageant idol1696 pageant thing1696 afgod1769 cult figure1895 eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) Introd. x. 28 Ne wyrc ðe gyldne godas oððe sylfrene. OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) xii. 228 Þæt wæs dioflum sylfum, for þon þe hie hira godu hæfdon geworhte of treowum & of stanum & of oðrum untimbrum missenlicum. OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) xx. 4 Ne wyrc ðu ðe agrafene godas. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3541 He seiden to aaraon, ‘Mac vs godes foren us to gon’. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxi. 30 Why hast þou stolne my goddis? 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 2344 Hyre fadrys goddys..Off gold & siluyr..Cristyn brak on pecys..And made off hem a distrybucioun To all þat come. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Exod. xxxiv. 17 Thou shalt make y^e no goddes of metall. 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 315 Some Temples..furnisht with wooden gods for politheisme. 1697 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ I. i. xix. 98 The Consecration also of new Gods. 1744 A. Pope Epist. to Several Persons iv. 76 Statues, dirty Gods and Coins. 1794 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 364/2 A copper God dwells in that temple of gold. 1838 T. Arnold Hist. Rome I. i. 1 They remembered to carry their gods with them, who were to receive their worship in a happier land. 1884 Ballou's Monthly Mag. Feb. 167/2 The huge stone god bellowed forth its low rumbling roar. 1941 Harper's Mag. Jan. 142/1 No more wooden gods, no more morais (temples)—all are destroyed. 1958 J. Barth End of Road v. 66 Her expression..was that of the Athenians on the morning they discovered that Alcibiades had gelded every marble god in town. 1998 L. Forbes Bombay Ice (1999) 100 The clay rain god that had been wedged into the elbow of a branch in Dad's garden. 3. In extended use. a. An adored, admired, or supremely powerful person.opera, rock, sex god: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > Christian love > (of persons) as objects of adoration godeOE the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [noun] > person godeOE society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful person > exercising god-like power godeOE vice-god1600 Olympian1869 eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxvi. 503 Ac swa swa manna goodnes hi ahefð ofer ða menniscan gecynd to ðon þæt hi bioð godas genemde [read genemnede], swa eac hiora [yfelnes a]wirpð hi under þa mennis[can gec]ynd to þon þæt hio bioð yfle [gehat]ene. OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) vii. 1 Drihten cwæð to Moyse: Nu ic gesette þe Pharaone to Gode [L. constitui te Deum Pharaonis]. OE Ælfric Homily: De Falsis Diis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 681 Þa hæþenan..fengon to wurðianne mislice entas and men him to godum, þa þe mihtige wæron on woruldlicum geþincðum, and egefulle on life. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3496 Blæðgabreat..cuðen al þeos songes. & þat gleo of ilcche londe..swa þat al þis mon-cun..seiden þat he wes god [c1300 Otho king] of alle gleo-cræften. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 31 Bledgaret passede alle his predecessoures in musik and in melodie, so þat he was i-cleped god of glee men [L. deus joculatorum]. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 1 Yf these goddes of the Earth would suffer me to enioy suche happinesse. 1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 32 Some there are that make gods of soldiers in open warrs. 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. i. 156 Sweare by thy glorious selfe, Which art the God of my Idolatrie. View more context for this quotation a1635 R. Sibbes Learned Comm. 2 Cor. i. (1655) 71 A man is a God to a man when he comforts; when he discomforts, and directs, and withdrawes, he is a divell to a man. 1692 S. Johnson Argument Abrogation King James 29 Such an Usurper is a God upon Earth, which it is easie for some sort of Men to make. 1716 R. Blackmore Ess. upon Several Subj. 173 Thus he makes Men of his Beasts, and Gods of his Men, and Men of his Gods. 1797 M. G. Lewis tr. F. Schiller Minister iv. iv. 141 The damsel belongs to me! to me, who was once her god; to me, who am now her devil! 1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 52 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. 1907 Observer 10 Mar. 10/2 Was not a great Cardiff football god the hero of the match? 1997 Vanity Fair July 120/1 He [sc. Ed Sullivan] was the God of Sunday Night. 2005 N.Y. Times Mag. 2 Oct. 118/2 I wanted to meet Garth. He was the god of the business, the guy you wanted to be. b. An adored or worshipped object; something exercising great or supreme influence.In early use, chiefly with reference to the belly, after Philippians 3:19 ‘whose God is their belly’. ΘΚΠ society > authority > power > [noun] > that which has absolute power godOE OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) vii. 135 And gemunað Iudeas þe hira lif eall hyra wambe to forlore forgeafon. Be ðam wæs cweden þæt hyra wamb wære hyra god. c1225 (?OE) Soul's Addr. to Body (Worcester) (Fragm. D) l. 36 For þin wombe was þin god. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 248 Þe glotoun and þe to moche nimere of metes makeþ of hare womben hare god, ase zayþ zaynte paul. ?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 154 Þus þai make þaire godd of þaire wambe, so þat na worthyness ne doghtyness þai vse. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. xv. sig. Rr1 Like a man whose will was his God, and his hand his law. 1640 J. Fletcher & J. Shirley Night-walker i. sig. B3 The old mans god, his gold, has wonne upon her. 1664 E. Gearle Three Country-Mens Eng. Answers 12 We were resolved to go to Prison, rather then to uphold or maintain his belly (which is his God). 1756 tr. C. Goldoni Pamela i. 39 Money is not my god. 1788 H. Cowley Fate of Sparta ii. i. 22 It is not glory, nor the hope of fame The mercenary feels—his God is plunder. 1852 F. W. Robertson Expos. Lect. Epist. Cor. (1859) xlvii. 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. 1906 C. Mansfield Girl & Gods xix. 222 Self is their god and Selfishness their religion. 1994 P. Baker Blood Posse v. 61 Style was his god. His suede Pumas and sharkskin pants were the joint. 2005 Alcalde (Univ. Texas) Nov.–Dec. 45/2 I think the great god of quantification and standardization is really problematical. 4. In plural. a. Theatre. The occupants of the seats in the highest part of the auditorium; that part of the audience occupying the gallery. Also (rare) in singular. Cf. gallery god n., gallery goddess n. at gallery n. Compounds 1d.In quot. 1752 with punning allusion to an episode in Homer's Iliad, set on Olympus, home of the Greek gods. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > theatre-going > theatregoer > [noun] > theatre audience > occupants of specific seat or place > collectively gallery1649 box1677 side-box1685 gods1752 stall1901 1752 B. Thornton Adventurer No. 3. 18 The servant whose business it is, as Homer says, ‘To shake the regions of the gods with laughter’. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London II. v. 108 The high regions assigned to that part of the audience called the ‘gods’, namely, the galleries. 1843 W. M. Thackeray Irish Sketch-bk. I. xii. 227 One young god, between the acts, favoured the public with a song. 1885 Manch. Examiner 4 May 5/3 The wrath of the pittites and the gods was appeased. 1897 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 1 May 471/1 These people would not, like the shilling god, expect the drama to be written down to them. 1913 Punch 23 Apr. 322/1 The warriors I prefer to hymn Are products of this peaceful age Who, with a courage truly grim, Have scaled the boards and stormed the stage. Here facing fearful ‘gods’ each day, They hold the fort from hour to hour. 2008 S. K. Sagala Buffalo Bill on Stage vii. 124 Regardless how the gods cheered, the critics would fill their columns with personal judgments. b. colloquial (originally Theatre). With the. The seats above the dress circle in a theatre; the gallery. Now also: the upper tier of seats in a stadium. Frequently in in the gods. ΚΠ 1900 N.Y. Times 7 Oct. 16/6 Then, perhaps, they would have more thought and consideration for the poor playgoer who goes up in the ‘gods’. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. 441 He said that he had seen from the gods my peerless globes as I sat in a box of the Theatre Royal. 1982 H. Rosenthal My Mad World of Opera ii. 13 It was a wonderful experience to be downstairs instead of in the gods. 2013 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 19 Sept. (Sport section) 70 Celtic's support was stretched out across the highest tier, way up there in the gods. II. In uses relating to monotheism, and senses derived from this. (Now usually with initial capital.) 5. Especially in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: the Supreme Being, regarded as the creator and ruler of the universe. a. Treated as a proper name. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] the Most HigheOE highesteOE alwaldendOE drightinOE godOE King of kingsOE heavenOE lordOE sky?1518 gossea1556 beingc1600 deity1647 Master of the Universe1765 Morimo1824 Molimo1861 Gawd1877 big guy1925 Modimo1958 the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > name of > God as name godOE godhead1357 OE Beowulf (2008) 930 A mæg God wyrcan wunder æfter wundre. OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) i. 1 On angynne gesceop God [L. Deus] heofonan & eorðan. OE tr. Theodulf of Orleans Capitula (Bodl.) xxix. 351 God, milde beo þu me synfullum. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 623 Godess enngell gabriæl. Comm dun o godess hallfe. I godess hus. wiþþ godess word. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 15 Þis beoð godes word þe god seolf idihte. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 37 (MED) God leue þe so to speke þat tou in none worde his heste ne tobreke. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1061 Rightwis he was, and godds freind. c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Interp. & Virtues Mass l. 275 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 99 When a man offreth to God hys herte, Rychest oblacion. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. clxii. 199 The lorde Chandos sayd to the prince..this iourney is yours: God is this day in your handes. 1562 Certayn Serm. preached in Lincs. in H. Latimer 27 Serm. ii. f. 127^v Thou must be sorie for it in thy hearte, and aske god forgiuenes. c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) i. 129 God is an Essence intellectuall, A perfect Substance incorporeall. 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxxi. 191 God; in which is contained Father, King, and Lord. 1737 R. Challoner Catholick Christian Instructed ii. 8 A likely Set of Men for bringing back God's Truth..who, so far from having any Orders or Mission, had not so much as Baptism. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 388 God, the All-gracious, the All-good, the All-bountiful, the All-mighty, the All-merciful God. 1774 F. Asbury Jrnl. 28 Nov. (1821) I. 133 I do not sufficiently love God, nor live by faith in the suburbs of heaven. 1810 S. Green Reformist I. 186 I did not think that London was yet such a sink of depravity, as to openly serve God and Satan on the same day. 1877 E. R. Conder Basis of 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. 1902 Perry Mag. Oct. 74/1 Come to prayer, come to adore, God is Great! 1956 W. H. Nes Excellency of Word ii. 59 Man cannot rest until he sees God. 2012 Daily Tel. 24 Feb. 22/2 Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each copy with deep reverence. b. With an additional title or epithet. Frequently prefixed to the designations of the Persons of the Trinity, as God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost.Almighty God, Lord God: see the first element. See also God almighty n., int., adv., and adj. ΚΠ OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John i. 1 In principio erat uerbum et uerbum erat apud deum : in fruma uæs uord & uord þæt is Godes sunu uæs mið God feder. OE Maxims I 75 An sceal inbindan forstes fetre felameahtig God. OE St. Mary of Egypt (Julius) (2002) 102 Sy þu gebletsod, Drihten God. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13080 Crist iss an. I kinde..Allwældennd godd wiþþ haliȝ gast. & wiþþ hiss faderr baþe. c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) l. 103 Weilawei, ihesu godd, hwuch unwurðe chaffere! 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 99 Godessone hit made to god þe uader ine worde. God þe holy gost þet is þet me acseþ. c1425 (c1400) Prymer (Cambr.) (1895) 47 God, fadir of heuene... God þe son... God þe holi gost, haue merci of us! c1440 (?c1350) in G. G. Perry Relig. Pieces in Prose & Verse (1914) 48 Powere es appropirde to Godd þe Fadir and wisdom to Godd þe Sonne and gudnes to Godd þe Haly Gaste. 1534 W. Marshall tr. Erasmus Playne & Godly Expos. Commune Crede f. 23 I beleue in God the father almyghty vnuysyble and vnpassyble. 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry f. 86 And God the holy Ghost, the soule of man doth winne, By mouing her to waile for grace, ashamed of her sinne. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. i. 311 But all-good God..Forbad vs touch that Tree on paine to die. 1645 G. Gillespie Nihil Respondes 11 That which were a dishonour to God the Son, were a dishonour to God the holy Ghost. 1720 D. Waterland 8 Serm. Divinity of Christ 175 Upon this Occasion,..it pleased God, in the most solemn and pompous Manner to proclaim the high Dignity of God the Son. 1845 G. S. Faber Eight Diss. I. i. iii. 36 God the Father..economically declares his high behests through the medium of the Word. a1879 F. R. Havergal Life Echoes (1883) 7 The Love of God the Father,..Be yours aboundingly, I pray, For this and every coming day. 1957 J. Bishop Day Christ Died (1959) 203 As God the son, he is equal to and commingled with the Father. 2003 R. Lacey Street Bible 428 The offer of an open door to Father God. †c. Used (without qualifying words) for: Jesus. Obsolete except as implied in Mother of God at mother n.¹ 2a and some phrases at Phrases 3b. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Son or Christ > [noun] soneOE godOE son of manOE Abraham's seedOE King of kingsOE Christ almightyOE ChristOE JesusOE lordOE Our LordOE Jesus Christc1175 Christ Jesusc1330 second personc1380 holiesta1400 Son of Goda1425 Man of Sorrows1577 OE Cynewulf Elene 687 Ic þæt geswerige þurh sunu meotodes, þone ahangnan God. OE Ælfric Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 357 Þæt is swyðe god spell, þurh Godes tocyme us to gehyrenne þæt we habban moton þa heofonlican wununge mid him sylfum æfre. OE Homily: Ded. Church (Tiber. C.i) in P. Clemoes Anglo-Saxons (1959) 274 On cyricean wyrð gegæderod cristen folc..to underfonne godes flæsc and godes blod. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 105 Ha..beoreð godes rode. ?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) l. 630 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II. 296 Therinne wes closed a nail gret That ede thurh godes fet. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1062 By god þ^t for vs deyde. a1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 500 And þan he receyves God gostly. a1500 (?a1475) Guy of Warwick (Cambr. Ff.2.38) l. 1 (MED) Sythe þe tyme þat god was borne..Mane aventewres hathe befalle. 1609 I. D. Confession Christian Relig. 18 As God redeemed the world by his blood, the God of glory was crucified. 6. A being such as is understood by the name ‘God’; a sole divine creator and ruler of the universe. a. As a general concept. ΚΠ OE St. Eustace (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 190 Ac se mildheorta and se welwillenda God [L. benignus deus], þe simle æghwær to him þa þe him wurðe beoð gecygð, ne forseah his godan weorc. OE Ælfric Homily: De Falsis Diis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 695 Ic wille þæt min folc on eallum minum rice anmodlice buge to Daniheles Gode [L. Deum Danihelis]. OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xiii. 1 Se unrihtwisa cwyð on his mode, ‘Nis nan God [L. non est deus] þe þis wite oððe wræce’. a1450 (?c1405) in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 29 Þey wene no god þer nys..Or elles, a-noþer heresy þere is. 1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) i. sig. Aiij^v/2 How be it that this dyuyne essence..maye not be perfyghtly knowen..yet there is not eny mortall persone. hauynge the vse of dyscrecyon. but that he woll confesse there is a god. 1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. C.viii^v A God there is, that guyds the Globe, and framde the fyckle Spheare. 1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. v. 889 To Believe a God, is to Believe the Existence of all Possible Good and Perfection in the Universe. 1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 161 Happy the man, who sees a God employ'd In all the good and ill that checker life! 1799 S. T. Coleridge Lines in Album in Morning Post 17 Sept. The God who fram'd Mankind to be one mighty family. 1872 Radical Apr. 251 Against the assertion of the Christian theologian that a God understood would be no God at all is set the protest of the Christian sentimentalist that a God not understood is no God at all. 1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith Pref. 12 Is there a God? Is there an Infinite, All-wise, All-powerful Spirit? 1951 W. H. Auden Nones (1952) 11 Unable To conceive a god whose temper-tantrums are moral. 2009 N. Cave Death Bunny Munro (2010) viii. 68 Whoever said that there isn't a God is full of shit! b. As opposed to the gods of other faiths (with partial reversion to the general sense: see sense A. 1). ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > being such as godOE OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) x. 17 Drihten sylf is goda God [L. Deus deorum], mære God & mihtig. OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxxxv. 2 Ic andette þam þe ece is ealra godena god. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. viii. 4 We witen, for an ydol is no thing in the world, and that ther is no God but oon. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 91 (MED) Þere is no god but on, & Machomete his messager. 1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. i. f. 8 Euen thys is it, to make a shadowishe God, to driue farre away the true God whome we ought to feare and worshyp. 1685 J. Jackson et al. Annot. Holy Bible II. sig. 4A3/1 They set up Puppets and Idols of their own devising, in the room of the true God. 1786 F. Gladwin tr. Epitome Mohammedan Law 7 I call him an Islamite, who, on being questioned in the grave, beareth witness that there is no God but God. 1827 W. Scott Life Napoleon IV. iii. 85 ‘There is no God but God, and Mahommed is his prophet’. A confession of faith which is in itself a declaration of Islamism. 1868 J. B. Lightfoot Epist. Philippians (1873) 94 He determined to overthrow the worship of the one true God. 1911 ‘M. Field’ Messiah i. i, in Accuser 158 The Muéddin: God is great, there is no God but God. 1939 A. Toynbee Study of Hist. VI. 44 The One True God whose alter ego Allāh was now proclaimed to be. 1999 R. M. Hannula Trial & Triumph xii. 77 His mother told him about the one true God who reigns on high. c. Chiefly with of. Such a being as associated with or embodying a particular quality (as the God of love, the God of mercy, the God of vengeance, etc.) or sphere of life or action (as the God of nature, the God of revelation, the God of providence), or as conceived of in a specified religion or system of thought (as the God of philosophy, the God of pantheism, the God of Judaism).Lord God of Hosts: see host n.¹ 3b. ΚΠ OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 13 Pacem habete, et deus dilectionis et pacis erit uobiscum : gie sibb habbað & god lufsumnis' & sibbes bið iuih mið. c1175 (?OE) Instr. for Christians 27 in Anglia (1964) 82 12 Lytle hwile on þissere leana dagum witena eanig winnað for Criste, and eft swa ðeah in ecnesse gewunað in wuldre mid weroda Godd. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. xiii. 11 Haue ȝe pees, and God of pees and loue [L. deus dilectionis et pacis] schal be with ȝou. a1425 (a1400) Northern Pauline Epist. (1916) Rom. xv. 5 Alle thynges þat ben writen..in holy bokys..god of pacience and of solace [L. Deus autem patientiae et solacii] gife ȝou to sauere þat same. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rom. xv. 5 The God of pacience and consolacion. 1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. iii. 54 Who the guide of nature but only the God of nature? 1608 S. Hieron Helpe vnto Deuotion 88 O Eternall God, the God of prouidence, the orderer and the disposer of all things. 1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. ii. 3 The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. View more context for this quotation 1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) v. ii On Thee, O God of Purity, I wait for hallowing Grace. 1756 tr. F. X. de Oliveira Pathetic Disc. Calamities Portugal 3 He is, also, the God of Strength, the God of Vengeance. 1785 T. Lindsey Exam. Plea Divinity Jesus Christ ix. 153 To return to and acknowlege the God of nature, and the God of revelation, Jehovah. 1796 tr. J. B. Duvoisin Exam. Princ. French Revol. viii. 65 The God of Christianity is more present to the mind and the heart than the God of philosophy. 1813 W. Hurn Psalms & Hymns 283 The God of truth his church has bless'd. 1827 J. Keble Christian Year II. xcv. 172 O God of Mercy, God of Might. 1852 O. W. Wight tr. V. Cousin Course Hist. Mod. Philos. I. i. 117 I could accumulate quite as many passages against the God of pantheism. 1905 Year Bk. Central Conf. Amer. Rabbis 15 90 In the same degree as the God of Judaism differs from all other deities. 1960 Life 25 Apr. 125/3 (advt.) Perhaps this..must involve a relationship with a God of truth—and of love, of mercy, of justice. 2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 4 Oct. 27/4 And should the God of love and mercy be given credit for the anopheles mosquito, the schistosomiasis parasite, anthrax, smallpox, bubonic plague? B. int. Expressing strong feeling, esp. dismay, disgust, exasperation, or anxiety. Cf. earlier oh God, my God, etc., at Phrases 1e(a). ΚΠ 1898 H. Macfall Wooings Jezebel Pettyfer xxxiii. 341 Gahd! it are kind o' skeery here. 1898 Argosy June 510 It's their lives or ours. God! I hope Ericsson is on the kee vee. 1912 R. Brooke Old Vicarage Grantchester (1916) 10 God! I will pack, and take a train, And get me to England once again! 1914 L. Woolf Wise Virgins xvi. 321 God! what a fool I've been. 1938 K. O'Brien Pray for Wanderer ix. 264 God! Was he taking leave of his senses? 1986 D. Potter Singing Detective v. 201 God! They all think they can write, don't they? 2011 S. Tyler & D. Dalton Does Noise in my Head bother You? iv. 121 Oh, fuck! Not this song again! God! Let's go snort some blow! Phrases P1. Exclamatory and parenthetic phrases expressing feeling or desire. a. Phrases expressing dependence upon or grateful recognition of God's providence. (a) by (also with, through) God's grace. Also by (also with, through) God's help, by (also with, through) God's assistance, by (also with, through) God's blessing, etc. [After post-classical Latin gratia Dei by the grace of god (see grace of God n.), auxiliante Deo God helping (8th cent. in a British source), and similar phrases.] ΚΠ eOE (Kentish) Charter: Lufu to Christ Church, Canterbury (Sawyer 1197) in F. E. Harmer Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 7 Ic Ceolnoð mid Godes gefe ercebiscop mid Cristes rode tacne ðis festnie. OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Oxf.) Prol. 4 Swa eac Paulus þurh his mæran bodunge him sylfan nanes lofes ne tilade.., ðus cweþende: ‘Þurh Godes gife [L. Gratia Dei] ic eom þæt þæt ic eom.’ OE Charter: Bp. Oswald to Wulfgar (Sawyer 1327) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1893) III. 532 Ic on him be Godes bletsunga & be ure ægþer ge wuda ge on felda swa his boc him wisaþ. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 35 Of hire we willeð sumdæl keðen be godes grace. c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 412 (MED) Y nam no truant, be godes grace! ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 37 Forsothe, sere, be goddys grace I xal me kepe from all trespace. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 124 I sall, with Goddis grace, Keip his command. 1539 Bk. Ceremonies in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. ii. App. cix. 287 Then followeth the offertory, wherby we be learned to prepare our selves by Gods grace to be an acceptable oblation to him. 1622 R. Sanderson Two Serm. Boston i. 5 I shall by Gods assistance proceed..to enquire how farre the differences..agree with the present case. 1647 T. May Hist. Parl. ii. iv. 74 The most necessary effectual Means, through God's blessing, of removing those Iealousies and Differences. 1662 Bk. Common Prayer Catechism Yes verily; and by Gods help so I will. 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. li. 255 She has a poor opinion of the purity she compliments me with, if she thinks, that I am not, by God's grace, above temptation from this sex. 1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 123 With God's assistance, I shall take care that my tail shall never rise up in judgment against me. 1828 Christian Jrnl. Aug. 225/2 They will have acquired that, for which they will, through God's grace, thank you. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 19 Here, by God's grace, is the one voice for me. 1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xx. 197 It was only by God's blessing that we were neither of us sun-smitten. 1935 T. S. Eliot Murder in Cathedral i. 22 Rebellious bishops..would have intercepted our letters... By God's grace aware of their prevision I sent my letters on another day. 1987 A. Djoleto Hurricane of Dust vii. 36 This is Ghana, but I'm still alive by God's grace. 2001 J. Boyle Galloway Street 216 I'll be away to Ameriky soon with God's help, and I'll have a big public house in Boston or Chicago, maybe. (b) thank God (also † God thank: see thank n. 4a). Also God be thanked, God be praised ( praise God, praised be God), † loved be God (cf. love v.² 1a), etc. [After post-classical Latin Deo gratias, lit. ‘thanks to God’ (10th cent. as interjection), and similar phrases; compare Anglo-Norman merci Deu, Deu merci and Middle French Dieu merci, interjections (12th cent.). Compare Middle Dutch gotdanc, godanc, interjection (Dutch goddank).] ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > gratitude > [adverb] > thanking divine providence God-thankc888 God be thanked1600 thank God1753 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) Pref. 9 Uncuð hu longe ðær swæ gelærede biscepas sien, swæ swæ nu Gode ðonc wel hwær siendon. OE tr. Abbo of St. Germain Sermo in Cena Domini (Corpus Cambr. 190) in D. Bethurum Homilies of Wulfstan (1957) 372 And ge, Gode þanc, nu todæg beoð eft underfangene on cyrcan swylce into neorxnawange for eowre behreowsunge. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 11 (MED) Unbileue..is aiware aleid and rihte leue arered, godeðonc. c1300 St. Mary of Egypt (Laud) l. 175 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 266 I-blessed be god þat bringueth þe soule bote. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2005 Þus wolde þe theues me haue reft, But god-þank, he hauenet sure keft. a1425 (c1333–52) L. Minot Poems (1914) 3 Bot, loued be God, þe pride es slaked Of þam [etc.]. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxii. §2. 398 Louyd be god fra this tyme of grace, that now is, whils this warldis standis, & withouten end. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xciii. 303 Syr, thanked be god we haue vaynquysshed the Emperoure. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 183 You breake iests as braggards do their blades, which God be thanked hurt not. View more context for this quotation 1607 Merrie Iests George Peele 12 The fellowe told him God be praised his good Landlord was well recouered. 1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ ii. i. 1 Thanke God I..am recovering and picking up my crummes apace. 1668 in A. Agnew Hist. Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway (1864) 372 I Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw Knyht Barronett, being, praised be God, in health and perfect memories. 1753 Scots Mag. July 320/2 Most of the landholders have now, thank God! abandoned that..religion. 1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xvi. 103 ‘Is not Madame Duval then with you?’ ‘With me! No,—thank God.’ 1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clare in Poems (new ed.) II. 196 ‘O God be thank'd!’ said Alice the nurse, ‘That all comes round so just and fair.’ 1888 W. H. H. Murray Doom of Mamelons i. 11 God be praised that I reckoned the course aright. 1898 H. Macfall Wooings Jezebel Pettyfer xxxi. 329 ‘Thank Gahd!’ she muttered, ‘the Lord have delivered she into my hands.’ 1916 J. Buchan Greenmantle xxii. 305 Oh, god be thanked, it's our friends! 1963 E. Hyams New Statesman vii. 116 It is not, thank God, in the English character to face the fact that a man is a dismal failure and kick him out. 1986 B. Fussell I hear Amer. Cooking iii. xii. 210 I have made them perforce hours ahead and they were still, praise God, delicious. 1991 R. Davies Murther & Walking Spirits ii. xxi. 89 God be praised, Anna has made it! (c) under God: as a secondary cause; as a secondary object of gratitude; with God's permission. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > second to God under God1314 1314 ( Royal Charter: William I to Bp. Herman, Beorhtwig, Scewine, & all his Thegns in Dorset in D. Bates Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum (1998) 112 Ic cyðe eow ðæt se abbod æt Abbodesbyrig & ða gebroþra & ða land & ða men & æle [read ælc] ðara ðinga ðæt ðe hyrþ in to sancte Petres mynstre to Abbodesbirig ðæt hit ys eall on minne munde & on minan fullan gehealde under God, swa full & swa forþ swa hit ðeder in furþ Orc leg on Eadwardes dæge kyneges mines meges. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 619 O. Influences of þise heuenes hye. Soth is þat vnder god ye ben oure hierdes. 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Love in W. W. Skeat Chaucerian & Other Pieces (1897) 43 We men..arn a fayr parcel of the erthe and holden the upperest degree, under god, of benigne thinges. 1570 J. Kello Confessioun sig. A.vi^v I desyre nathing mair vnder God then to be separate fra the contagioun of this wickit flesche. 1607 Merrie Iests George Peele 10 Yet, quoth he, vnder God, I will doe him some good. 1619 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 170 The blessedness of this good work, under God, is to be attributed to the king alone. 1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 23 He..thank'd me that had, under God, given him and so many miserable Creatures their Lives. 1777 H. H. Brackenridge Death Gen. Montgomery i. i. 14 Thus, under God, we haply may succeed. 1867 Amer. Q. Church Rev. Jan. 568 Every soul, under God, is to interpret Scripture for itself. 1944 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 30 Apr. (1995) 76 Probable under God that we shall meet again, ‘in hale and in unity’, before very long. 1985 Third Way Apr. 13/2 One of its [sc. Government's] functions is, under God, to restrain evil. 2006 M. Novak & J. Novak Washington's God vi. 114 He felt deep within himself the pull, under God, of America's universal mission. (d) (i) if (also †and) God will. Also †will God, (regional) an Gothill, a Goddil.and God will was formerly sometimes used as an ironic apology. [After post-classical Latin Deo volente, lit. ‘God willing’ (see Deo volente n. and compare God willing at Phrases 1a(d)(ii)).] ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > subject to outside forces [phrase] if (also and) God willc1300 will God1488 please the pigs1683 Deo volente1767 inshallah1857 the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > God willing if (also and) God willc1300 God willing1438 will God1488 Deo volente1767 D.V.1843 c1300 St. Julian Hospitable (Laud) l. 76 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 258 Ȝif god wole [a1325 Corpus Cambr. Ȝif Crist wole], þe ȝwyle we a-liue beoth, ne schulle we departi atwo. c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 1540 (MED) I wil do bi þe, ȝif god wil. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 770 Will god I sall eschape this tresoune fals. 1542 T. Becon Newe Pathway vnto Praier xlvi. sig. R.ij^v Monstures, Monckes I woulde haue sayd, & other religious parsons, and God wyll as they desyre to be called. 1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 46 Ise feend tea a Maister a goddil. 1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Gothill, An Gothill, if God will... ‘In Gothill I'll be there’. 1893 J. Rhoades Teresa 23 You hear The guest knock loud for entrance; and anon The host will open, and to no mean fare Of iron entertainment, if God will, Give him such welcome as may pierce his heart. 1911 E. Nesbit Ballads & Verses of Spiritual Life 72 Bear up, my mother, yet a little while, And we shall see each other, if God will. 1994 Jet 4 July 46/2 Holyfield said his retirement soon might end. ‘If God will, I will,’ he added. (ii) God willing. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > God willing if (also and) God willc1300 God willing1438 will God1488 Deo volente1767 D.V.1843 1438 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 67 Jhone Stewart,..God wylland, sall haff to wyff..Margaret off Mongomry. 1507 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 77 The said Richerd sall, God willing, mend and reforme the stepill forsaid ennowe, and vteucht sufficiently and substanciusly in ale thingis as efferis. 1526 T. Wolsey in State Papers Henry VIII (1830) I. 184 The said realme may yet, God willing, be preserved and releved. 1588 ‘M. Marprelate’ Oh read ouer D. Iohn Bridges: Epist. 30 Naye (quoth Penrie) neuer so long as I liue godwilling. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 187 What so poore a man as Hamlet is, May doe t'expresse his loue..God willing shall not lack. View more context for this quotation c1688 H. Herbert in R. Warner Epistolary Curiosities (1818) 1st Ser. 72 We both intend, God willing, to set forward for London on Munday next. 1706 W. Wycherley Let. to Pope in Pope's Lett. (1735) 25 Afterwards to spend two Months (God willing) with you, at Binfield. 1776 L. Carter Diary 26 Apr. (1965) II. 1027 This night I shall, god willing, part with my under waistcoat. 1835 J. W. Carlyle Lett. I. 25 Next year, God willing, I shall see you all again. 1880 Ld. Tennyson Ballads & Other Poems 119 The swine, lay-men, lay-women, who will come, God willing, to outlearn the filthy friar. 1944 C. Beaton Diary in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) xiv. 140 Tomorrow, God willing, is our last day of truck travel after banging over 700 miles in this old crock. 2010 New Yorker 2 Aug. 55/1 We love it here. God willing, I'll die here. God willing, not too soon. †(e) (and) God before (also tofore): under God's guidance. Obsolete. [Compare Godbefore in earlier use as the name of a ship (1338). Compare also Middle French Dieu devant, Dieu avant (a1393).] ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > with God's help (and) God before (also tofore)a1413 with God to friend1590 a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 1042 And dredles yf þat my lyf may laste And god to-forn, lo som of hem shal smerte. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7196 They shal neuere haue that myght And god to forne for strif to [perh. read ne] fight That they ne shal ynough fynde That petres lawe shal haue in mynde. ?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 14 Diuerse exsaumples, the whiche, and God before, ye shall take hede of. c1500 Melusine (1895) 128 For god before we tende & purpose to gyue bataylle to the Sawdan. 1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Pardoner & Frere sig. B.iv I wyll neuer come hether more Whyle I lyue and god before. 1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia iii. E 4 b Els (god to fore) my selfe may liue to see His tired corse lye toyling in his blood. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V i. ii. 307 For God before, weell check the Dolphin at his fathers doore. 1607 M. Drayton Legend Cromwel 36 For in my skill his sound recouerie lies, Doubt not thereof if setting God before. (f) with God to friend: with God's help or protection. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > with God's help (and) God before (also tofore)a1413 with God to friend1590 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A7 So forward on his way (with God to frend) He passed forth. 1823 W. Tennant Cardinal Beaton iv. i. 97 Accuser, I, with God to friend, appeal From this convention. 1874 A. C. Swinburne Bothwell iii. i. 248 Your heart of hope is great; with God to friend, A man could speed no better than your hope. 1901 D. Ainslie John of Damascus ii. 108 With the young, new god to friend all golden-haired prosperities may on my kingdom come again. b. In earnest appeals or exhortations, as for (also †fore) God's love, for God's sake (also for God sake, for Godsake, for God's sakes), in (also †a, †o', †on) God's name. for the love of God: see love n.¹ Phrases 1a(a). on God's half: see half n. Phrases 1b(c). [With in (also †a, †o', †on) God's name compare Anglo-Norman a nun deu in similar use (first half of the 14th cent. or earlier).] ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > [phrase] > earnest expressions for (also fore) God's loveeOE for the love of GodeOE for God's sakec1386 for (also of) all lovesa1400 for love's sakea1400 in (also a, o', on) God's namea1400 of all lovea1400 for pity1484 for pity's sake1484 eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. iii. 266 Ic þa la halsie & bidde fore Godes lufan [L. obsecro], þæt þu me gesecge hwæt se song wære. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) Pref. 2 Nu bidde ic and halsige on godes naman gif hwa ðas boc awritan wylle, þæt he hi geornlice gerihte. ?a1300 Fox & Wolf l. 36 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 26 Be stille, ich hote, a godes nome! c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8968 Madame he sede uor godes loue is þis wel ido Þat þou þes vnclene limes handlest. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4798 Ga we alle, In godds nam. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 4800 I ȝou pray for goddes sake. c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 854 What wel come be the Cut in goddes name. 1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. K viij These a Gods name wear their targettes again the shot of our small artillerie. 1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 15 For God sake let not my tutor know it. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 252 But what a Gods name doth become of this? View more context for this quotation 1612 B. Jonson Alchemist v. iii. sig. L4 For Gods sake, when will her Grace be at leasure? View more context for this quotation 1650 A. Weldon Court & Char. King James 103 For God's sake, tel me, said the King. 1706 J. Stevens tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote (ed. 2) II. lxx. 408 Sleep o'God's Name..if thy Twitching, Pinching, and Pin-pricking will give thee leave. 1735 A. Pope Prol. to Satires in Wks. II. 101 Hold! for God-sake—you'll offend. 1799 C. B. Brown Ormond x. 108 What, in God's name, did she want with him at that hour? Could she not wait, at least, till he had done his supper? 1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 173 For God's love, a little air! 1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 28 For God's sake,..let it be at once. 1883 R. L. Gilchrist Apples of Sodom vi. 60 For God's sakes what is the matter? 1955 E. Hillary High Adventure 175 For God's sake, Charles, keep an eye on John! 1995 I. Banks Whit (1996) xiv. 234 Well, then, God's sakes, Isis!.. All the more reason to tell Salvador to take a hike! 2004 A. Levy Small Island ii. 22 Gilbert, what in God's name have you done? c. Phrases expressive of a strong wish, chiefly for the benefit or injury of some person. (a) With God as subject followed by a verb in the subjunctive.God bless, forbid, forfend, give, help, preserve, save, send, shield, speed, etc.: see the verbs. God rest you merry: see rest v.¹ Phrases 3b. God give you good day, good even, etc.: see the noun phrases.In such phrases as have remained current, God is often omitted, as bless you, damn you, preserve us (see the verbs). (i) Miscellaneous uses. ΚΠ OE Scribble (Tiber. B.v) in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 255 God me helpe. OE Ælfric Let. to Wulfsige (Corpus Cambr.) in B. Fehr Die Hirtenbriefe Ælfrics (1914) 34 God geunne eow, þæt ge hit moton swa aredigan, swa eower þearf sy. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 1066 Syððon comen ealle dræuednysse & ealle ifele to þone mynstre. God hit gemyltse! c1240 ( Writ of Edward the Confessor, Wells (Sawyer 1115) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Bath & Wells (2007) 231 And gyf anig man syg þat mine gyfe awendan wyllen, awende hine God almihgti fram his ansyne & fram ælre cristenne manna. 1389 in C. Innes Liber Sancte Marie de Melros (1837) 449 Dauid kyng qwhilom of Scotland, that god assoillie. 1447 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 68 Oure progenitouris of noble mynde quham God assoille. c1480 (a1400) St. Theodora l. 201 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 105 God þe forȝelde, & fra wikyt forton þe schelde. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xiii. l. 708 God grant that thai..maynteyme the land, And hald the folk weill to warrand. c1525 J. Rastell New Commodye Propertes of Women sig. Aiv God reward the for thy gentyll intendyng. 1612 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) I. 194 God keep them from base courses! 1649 Declar. Proc. Parl. Scotl. 3 God grant, that every good Christian may give his helping hand for the subverting the same. 1775 R. Challoner in E. H. Burton Life Bp. Challoner (1909) II. xxviii. 116 God reward the good Lady, our benefactrix. 1824 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. II. xiii. 245 I wear an habitual sneer upon my face, God confound them for it! 1948 M. McLaverty in Irish Writing 4 37 But God grant he'd return to her in better form! 2010 J. O'Connor Ghost Light (2011) vii. 107 God keep your innocence, Miss. That it might always be your blessing. (ii) God be with (also †mid) you: used as an expression of good wishes on parting. Cf. goodbye int. 1. Also as n.In quot. c1300 in the subscription of a charter. ΚΠ c1300 ( Royal Charter: William I to Bp. Æðelmær, Earl Ralph, & all his Thegns in Norfolk & Suffolk in D. Bates Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum (1998) 197 God be mid ihu. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. ccccxxix/1 Thys poure man departyng and sayeng god be wyth you and at your helpe. 1573 W. Smith XII. Mery Iests vii. sig. D.iiii Then farewel honycombe til I se you againe, God be with you, and shield you from the raine. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 45 While then, God be with you . View more context for this quotation 1637 T. Heywood Royall King iv God be with you good Captaine. 1797 T. Holcroft Adventures Hugh Trevor IV. v. 38 His parting reply was, ‘God be with you, wherever you go! Perhaps you may see me again sooner than you think for.’ 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. viii. 180 A profusion of farewells and god-be-with-you's. 1868 Times 20 Oct. 4/5 As each railful of communicants quitted the Communion-table..he used to address to them..‘God be with you, my children’. 1936 M. R. Anand Coolie iv. 188 Go through there as if you were an ordinary person. God be with you. 1976 Ebony Jr. Mar. 39/2 When the time came for him to leave, his mother gave him a blessing and said, ‘God be with you’. 2005 J. M. Coetzee Slow Man xvi. 121 She has said her goodbyes, goodbyes are over with. Goodbye: God be with you. (iii) God damn (a person or thing) (also goddam, goddamn): expressing condemnation of, or anger or frustration towards (a person or thing). Cf. damn v. 6, goddam int., Goddammit int.Earliest in God damn me int. ΚΠ 1596 J. Harington Apol. sig. Mvi God damne me if I loue them not, I feare more to be damned for louing them too well. 1680 T. Blood Narr. conc. Design against Duke Buckingham 3 Is that the Blood that stole the Crown? God damn him, we will have nothing to do with him, for he is a great Friend of the Duke of Buckingham's. 1697 D. Defoe Ess. Projects 242 Go among the Gamesters, and there nothing is more frequent than, God damn the Dice, or God damn the Bowls. 1794 J. Kirkpatrick Libel before Presbytery of Kirkcudbright 4 You..most wickedly and obscenely expressed yourself in the following words..God damn Lady Hannay. 1861 A. G. Frick Let. 14 Feb. in H. Holzer Dear Mr. Lincoln (1993) x. 341 Abe Lincoln..goddam you. 1864 Cincinnati Enquirer 4 Mar. 2/5 God damn you, I led this whole thing. 1938 ‘C. S. Forester’ Ship of Line 51 God damn and blast all you hamfisted yokels. 1964 J. Thompson Pop. 1280 xiii. 71 Goddam him to hell, anyway! 1993 J. Mowry Six out Seven i. xi. 162 God damn that dogfuckin ole peckerwood bastard! (b) In forms with the verb (and sometimes other elements) abbreviated or altered.See also goodbye n., int., and adj. †(i) With omission (or alteration) of give, in customary expressions of good wishes on meeting or parting, as God you good day, God you good even (also God dig-you-den, goddiggonden, goddy-godden, Godge you good even, Godgigoden, Godigoden), God you good morn, God you good morrow (also Godyegudmora, Godge you God morrow), God you good night. Cf. give v. 3b, 17. Obsolete.Cf. also good day n. 1, good even n. 1, good morn int., good morrow n. 1, goodnight n. 1. ΚΠ 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 4319 Gif ȝe be King, God ȝow gude day. 1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 636 The Thane of Caldar, Schir, God ȝow gude morne! 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. ii. 57 Godgigoden, I pray sir can you read. View more context for this quotation 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iii. 102 Nur: God ye goodmorrow Gentlemen. Mer: God ye good den faire Gentlewoman. Nur: Is it godyegooden I pray you. Mer: Tis no lesse I assure you, for the baudie hand of the diall is euen now vpon the pricke of noone. View more context for this quotation 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 42 God dig-you-den al. View more context for this quotation 1605 S. Rowley When you see Me sig. D2 Godyegodnight and twentie syr. 1611 G. Chapman May-day i. 8 Godge you God morrow Sir, godge you God morrow. 1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre i. iv. 7 in Wks. II By your leaue, Gentlemen, with all my heart to you: and god you good morrow. 1640 N. Richards Trag. Messallina iv. sig. E5^v Godge godden I'le come agen anon. 1651 T. Randolph et al. Hey for Honesty iv. iii. 33/2 Goddy-godden, good father: pray which is the house where Plutus lives. 1671 tr. A. H. de Mendoza To love only for Love Sake ii. 64 Zel. Yow (th'unkent Knight) Godyegudmora! Fel. (The Time of day thou dost mistake). (ii) With contraction of save (cf. save v. Phrases 2c), as †Gods me, †Gods my bones, Gods my life, etc. Cf. God sa' me at sa' v. Now archaic. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection] whatOE well, wellOE avoyc1300 ouc1300 ay1340 lorda1393 ahaa1400 hillaa1400 whannowc1450 wow1513 why?1520 heydaya1529 ah1538 ah me!a1547 fore me!a1547 o me!a1547 what the (also a) goodyear1570 precious coals1576 Lord have mercy (on us)1581 good heavens1588 whau1589 coads1590 ay me!1591 my stars!a1593 Gods me1595 law1598 Godso1600 to go out1600 coads-nigs1608 for mercy!a1616 good stars!1615 mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616 gramercy1617 goodness1623 what next?1662 mon Dieu1665 heugh1668 criminy1681 Lawd1696 the dickens1697 (God, etc.) bless my heart1704 alackaday1705 (for) mercy's sake!1707 my1707 deuce1710 gracious1712 goodly and gracious1713 my word1722 my stars and garters!1758 lawka1774 losha1779 Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784 great guns!1795 mein Gott1795 Dear me!1805 fancy1813 well, I'm sure!1815 massy1817 Dear, dear!1818 to get off1818 laws1824 Mamma mia1824 by crikey1826 wisha1826 alleleu1829 crackey1830 Madonna mia1830 indeed1834 to go on1835 snakes1839 Jerusalem1840 sapristi1840 oh my days1841 tear and ages1841 what (why, etc.) in time?1844 sakes alive!1846 gee willikers1847 to get away1847 well, to be sure!1847 gee1851 Great Scott1852 holy mackerel!1855 doggone1857 lawsy1868 my wig(s)!1871 gee whiz1872 crimes1874 yoicks1881 Christmas1882 hully gee1895 'ullo1895 my hat!1899 good (also great) grief!1900 strike me pink!1902 oo-er1909 what do you know?1909 cripes1910 coo1911 zowiec1913 can you tie that?1918 hot diggety1924 yeow1924 ziggety1924 stone (or stiffen) the crows1930 hullo1931 tiens1932 whammo1932 po po po1936 how about that?1939 hallo1942 brother1945 tie that!1948 surprise1953 wowee1963 yikes1971 never1974 to sod off1976 whee1978 mercy1986 yipes1989 1570 T. North tr. A. F. Doni Morall Philos. iii. f. 62 But hearest thou me, Gods my bones not a word for thy life [no direct equivalent in It. original]. 1595 G. Peele Old Wiues Tale sig. B^v Gods me bones who comes here? 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 201 Gods my life! Stolne hence, and left mee a sleepe. View more context for this quotation 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iii. iv. sig. G4^v God's my life; did you euer heare the like? View more context for this quotation 1605 G. Chapman Al Fooles iii. i. E 3 b Gods my deare soule, what sudden change is here! 1606 J. Day Ile of Guls sig. D4 Godsme, my mothers stealing of a nap. 1607 T. Heywood Woman Kilde with Kindnesse sig. F^v Gods me: no such dispatch. 1640 tr. G. S. du Verdier Love & Armes Greeke Princes ii. 191 Gods me, said Trasiclea. 1950 W. Graham Jeremy Poldark i. iii. 48 ‘God's my life,’ said Francis. ‘What a pesky wind. One is blown down this alley like a pea down a pipe.’ 1992 P. O'Brian Truelove (1993) iv. 112 God's my life, Stephen, you absolutely turned a somersault. †(iii) God dild, God dylde, God eyld, God ild, goddilge: God yield (you, him, etc.): see yield v. 7a. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Ei Baily. God blesse you gammer Gurton. Gammer. God dylde you master mine. 1579 G. Harvey Let. to Spenser in Wks. (1884) 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. 1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Huntington Libr. copy) sig. L3 No forsooth God dild you hee would not that hee would. 1608 G. Chapman Conspiracie Duke of Byron v. (ad fin.) Marry God dild him. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vi. 13 How you shall bid God-eyld vs for your paines. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Hamlet (1623) iv. v. 41 How do ye, pretty Lady? Ophe. Well, God dil'd [1603 yeeld] you. d. In phrases referring to God's omniscience. (a) God (†it) wot: God knows. Cf. goddot int. [Compare Dutch godeweet (interjection) truly; compare also early use as a surname: Thomas Godwot (1328), John Godwot (1371).] †(i) Used with an indirect question to imply that something is unknown to the speaker, and probably to any other human being. Obsolete.In quot. OE as God āna wāt: ‘God alone knows’. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [phrase] > expressing lack of knowledge God wotOE God or Crist witec1175 Lord knows1614 Heaven knowsa1628 the stars know what (also how, etc.)1760 OE Fortunes of Men 8 God ana wat hwæt him weaxendum winter bringað. a1400 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 263 (MED) Deȝe we ssulin sikerliche, bot god wot wanne & were. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. l. 586 Oft failȝeis the fulis thocht And wys mennys etling Cummys nocht ay to that ending That thai think it sall cum to For God wate weill quhat is to do. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 765 Sent, no man wist whether, to be done wyth, God wot what. 1646 G. Buck Hist. Life Richard III iii. 85 Their bodies were bestowed God wot where. (ii) Used to emphasize the truth of a statement. Now archaic (chiefly in echoes of quot. 1893). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adverb] > as emphasis God (it) wot?c1225 goddot?a1289 sooth to sayc1330 truth (also sooth) to tella1375 honestly1819 honest Indian1854 truthfully1854 honest Injun1857 on the level1872 straight1874 honest1876 square dinkum1888 no kidding1901 straight-up1963 OE St. Mary of Egypt (Julius) (2002) 84 God wat þæt ic heora forhtige.] ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 93 God hit wat þe put deð muche god. moni ancre. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2527 Þer-of held he wel his oth, For he it made, god it woth. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 4473 God wat..I sal vndo þe wele þi sueuen. a1529 J. Skelton Colyn Cloute (?1545) sig. A.vii Than renne they in euery stede God wot with dronken nolles. 1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 61 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 263 He went fra hame god wait on weddinsday. a1616 W. Shakespeare Richard III (1623) ii. iii. 18 Stood the State so? No, no, good friends, God wot [1597 not so]. a1617 P. Baynes Comm. Ephes. (1643) i. 214 Commonly the most Christians are counted good men godwot, but simple soules, of no parts. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 157 God wot, his shield is blank enough. 1893 T. E. Brown My Garden in Old John & Other Poems 177 A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! 1905 A. C. Swinburne Poems III. 134 For all my subtle wiles, perdie, God wot I loved him well enow. 1938 K. A. Porter Let. 21 Nov. (1990) 168 A provincial Rotary-club-minded University is a fearsome spot, God wot. 1996 Church Times 19 Jan. 11/1 The idea that a bishop is an awesome thing God wot. (b) God knows. [Compare post-classical Latin novit Deus (14th cent. in British sources).] (i) Used to emphasize the truth of a statement. ΚΠ a1485 H. Baradoun in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 289 In the courte, is many noble Roome; But god knowith, I can noon soche cacche. a1555 N. Ridley in M. Coverdale Certain Lett. Martyrs (1564) 77 It is impossible to set forth..al y^t was (God knoweth) tumultuously spoken. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) v. i. 230 The Chaine, Which God he knowes, I saw not. View more context for this quotation 1664 S. Pepys Diary 25 Nov. (1971) V. 330 God knows, this is only a scare to the Parliament, to make them give the more money. 1752 C. Lennox Female Quixote I. ii. xi. 156 God knows I never thought of such a Thing! 1788 R. Burns Let. 21 Jan. (2001) I. 215 Lately I was a sixpenny private; and, God knows, a miserable soldier enough. 1805 E. Cavanagh Let. 4 Oct. in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 185 An Army, God knows, might live unknownst in the House! 1915 H. James Let. 23–24 Mar. in H. James & E. Wharton Lett. (1990) vi. 331 The money is, God knows, assistingly spendable here! 1930 W. S. Maugham Breadwinner ii. 101 God knows, it's been an uphill job, but I've done my best. 2008 Independent 1 Apr. 3/2 We are not prudes, God knows, and we have no problem with vigorous language, where appropriate. (ii) Used with an indirect question (frequently with anaphoric reference) to imply that something is unknown to the speaker, and probably to any other human being. ΚΠ 1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere Pref. sig. Bb.i^v And what wyll ferther come theron god knoweth. 1548 F. Bryan tr. A. de Guevara Dispraise Life Courtier xv. sig. L.ii God knowes what suche libertie costeth them. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 98 The sayd John was had after in great suspicion, whether iustly or vniustly God knoweth. 1584 A. Munday Watch-woord to Eng. f. 13 Priuilie thus murdered, their bodies cast God knowes where. 1595 G. Aleyn Let. 21 Sept. in G. Ungerer Spaniard in Eliz. Eng. (1976) II. 42 Promising to send him the reste God knowes when. 1659 Maze 85 They may inherit, true; but God knowes when. 1665 A. Cowley Let. 21 May in S. Johnson Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets (1779) I. 35 What this signifies, or may come to in time, God knows. a1708 T. Ward England's Reformation (1710) i. 86 His Soul departed, God knows where. 1793 C. Smith Old Manor House II. xi. 255 God knows what will become of your unhappy brother. 1877 19th Cent. Nov. 582 [The sisters] now forlornly resident in the house of a merchant banker in Bucharest..—outraged by God knows what ruffiandom of uncounted Bulgarians. 1899 E. Robins Open Question xxxvi. 522 ‘You who wanted to go to China and Persia, and God knows where!’ ‘Well, I am going—God knows where.’ 1920 S. Lewis Main St. iv. 50 These suffragettes and God knows what all buttinskis there are that are trying to tell a business man how to run his business. 1940 ‘N. Shute’ Landfall 198 ‘How long have they been doing this?’ ‘God knows. We've only just cottoned on to it.’ 2005 D. Nicholls Understudy 193 He wears these annoying aviator sunglasses all the time... God knows why. (iii) With a verbless indirect question forming a phrase denoting an unknown person, thing, or place. ΚΠ 1801 Monthly Mag. May 356/1 Forming God knows what, and consisting of God knows whom! 1822 Ld. Byron Werner iv. i. 51 The country..Is over-run with—God knows who. 1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IX lxvii. 38 They fell in love;—She with his face, His grace, his God-knows-what. 1939 N. Monsarrat This is Schoolroom i. 35 A crusade against God-knows-what which would finish up God-knew-where. 1971 K. Tynan Let. 21 May (1994) vii. 493 I look yearningly at the phone and realise that you are out at the ballet with God knows whom. 2004 Washington Post 23 Sept. (Home ed.) c7/3 Tips garnered from God-knows-where by a partisan wack job in Texas. e. (a) In the vocative with an interjection or modifier, used to express strong feeling, esp. astonishment or dismay, as ah God, oh God, my God, good God, etc.Cf. sense B., migod int., omigod int. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > passion > expression of strong feeling [interjection] oh God1340 oh1533 good Godc1595 arrah1703 my God1812 oh my days1841 the mind > emotion > excitement > exclamation of excitement [interjection] oh God1340 good Godc1595 woo-hoo1697 my God1812 whee1920 cowabunga1954 yipes1955 phwoar?1976 yahoo1976 wahey1979 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 92 (MED) A god, hou hi byeþ foles! a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 127 Ye holy god quod she what þyng is that. 1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. avi Hevinly god said the heynd how happynis this thing. 1573 New Custome ii. iii. sig. C iv^v Preciouse God it frettes mee to the very gall. c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxviii. 125 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 110 And yet (good god) how ofte this crooked kind Incenst him in the desert euery where? 1607 T. Heywood Woman Kilde with Kindnesse sig. B3^v O God: a surgion there. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) ii. v. 61 Who's this? Oh God! It is my Fathers face. 1741 E. F. Haywood Anti-Pamela 229 Good God! cry'd he, what a Fiend must this be under an Angel's Form! 1795 S. T. Coleridge Lett. (1895) 148 O God! that such a mind should fall in love with that low, dirty, gutter-grubbing trull, Worldly Prudence! 1812 T. Amyot Some Acct. Life W. Windham I. 134 In which the words, ‘My God!’ had been made use of on a light occasion. 1856 Ld. Tennyson Maud (rev. ed.) xv, in Maud & Other Poems (new ed.) 8 Ah God, as he used to rave. 1894 Midland Monthly Mar. 252 My God, but she looks old! 1926 J. M. March Wild Party (1928) ii. i. 35 My god, Queenie; you're looking swell! 1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xviii. 252 You haven't seen the fellow! Valet! Good God, one would as lief employ a coal heaver! 1953 D. Thomas Let. 28 July (1987) 907 Dear God, we'd better not become any better friends. 1992 R. Harris Fatherland iii. 148 God in heaven, can you imagine what the foreign press would make of this? 2006 D. Trussoni Falling through Earth (2007) xiii. 240 Yikes! Yikes! O my God! †(b) In phrases intensifying a wish or aspiration. Chiefly Scottish in God gif, God nor: would to God that. Cf. give v. 3b, nor conj.³ 2. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox, Wolf, & Cadger l. 2121 in Poems (1981) 81 Than said the vollf, ‘Nou God nor that I hang!’ a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 197 God gif ȝe war Iohne Thomsounis man. 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 1325 God nor my trewker mence ane ledder. 1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxii. 50 O monstrous bird! God nor ye gleddis ȝe [= thee] get. 1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 737 Greit God! gif I war now..Vpon the mure. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 307 O God that I were a man. View more context for this quotation 1608 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1876) I. 296 In saying: God nor he be brunt in the playing place as Mergrat Park wes. a1713 A. Pitcairne Assembly (1722) ii. i. 24 God nor the D'ill blaw me i' the Air. (c) would God: see will v.¹ Phrases 3. (I) would to God: see will v.¹ 4a. †f. God pays (also God to pay): expressing indifference to the consequences of one's action. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > indifference > [phrase] > expression of indifference what reck?a1513 a foutre for1600 God pays1605 san fairy ann1919 for all I care1934 so what?1934 (I, etc.) couldn't care less1946 see if I care1947 (I, etc.) could care less1966 1605 London Prodigall 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 Epigrammes xii, in Wks. I. 772 His onely answere is to all, god payes. a1637 B. Jonson Masque of Owles 133 in Wks. (1640) III Whom since they have shipt away: And left him God to pay. P2. In other phrases referring to a single Supreme Being. a. to go to God. (a) To die and go to heaven. Also to depart to God. In early use also †to fere (or i-wite) to God. Cf. to pass to God at pass v. 6a. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] forsweltc888 sweltc888 adeadeOE deadc950 wendeOE i-wite971 starveOE witea1000 forfereOE forthfareOE forworthc1000 to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE queleOE fallOE to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE to shed (one's own) blood?a1100 diec1135 endc1175 farec1175 to give up the ghostc1175 letc1200 aswelta1250 leavea1250 to-sweltc1275 to-worthc1275 to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290 finea1300 spilla1300 part?1316 to leese one's life-daysa1325 to nim the way of deathc1325 to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330 flit1340 trance1340 determinec1374 disperisha1382 to go the way of all the eartha1382 to be gathered to one's fathers1382 miscarryc1387 shut1390 goa1393 to die upa1400 expirea1400 fleea1400 to pass awaya1400 to seek out of lifea1400–50 to sye hethena1400 tinea1400 trespass14.. espirec1430 to end one's days?a1439 decease1439 to go away?a1450 ungoc1450 unlivec1450 to change one's lifea1470 vade1495 depart1501 to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513 to decease this world1515 to go over?1520 jet1530 vade1530 to go westa1532 to pick over the perch1532 galpa1535 to die the death1535 to depart to God1548 to go home1561 mort1568 inlaikc1575 shuffle1576 finish1578 to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587 relent1587 unbreathe1589 transpass1592 to lose one's breath1596 to make a die (of it)1611 to go offa1616 fail1623 to go out1635 to peak over the percha1641 exita1652 drop1654 to knock offa1657 to kick upa1658 to pay nature her due1657 ghost1666 to march off1693 to die off1697 pike1697 to drop off1699 tip (over) the perch1699 to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703 sink1718 vent1718 to launch into eternity1719 to join the majority1721 demise1727 to pack off1735 to slip one's cable1751 turf1763 to move off1764 to pop off the hooks1764 to hop off1797 to pass on1805 to go to glory1814 sough1816 to hand in one's accounts1817 to slip one's breatha1819 croak1819 to slip one's wind1819 stiffen1820 weed1824 buy1825 to drop short1826 to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839 to get one's (also the) call1839 to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840 to unreeve one's lifeline1840 to step out1844 to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845 to hand in one's checks1845 to go off the handle1848 to go under1848 succumb1849 to turn one's toes up1851 to peg out1852 walk1858 snuff1864 to go or be up the flume1865 to pass outc1867 to cash in one's chips1870 to go (also pass over) to the majority1883 to cash in1884 to cop it1884 snuff1885 to belly up1886 perch1886 to kick the bucket1889 off1890 to knock over1892 to pass over1897 to stop one1901 to pass in1904 to hand in one's marble1911 the silver cord is loosed1911 pip1913 to cross over1915 conk1917 to check out1921 to kick off1921 to pack up1925 to step off1926 to take the ferry1928 peg1931 to meet one's Maker1933 to kiss off1935 to crease it1959 zonk1968 cark1977 to cark it1979 to take a dirt nap1981 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxii. 277 Se cyning Eglippus leofode his lif on eawfæstre drohtnunge, and on fulre ylde ferde to Gode. OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 330 He awrat his godspell on Achaian lande, and gewat to Gode mid ðam halgan gaste afylled, ða þa he wæs on ylde feower and hundeahtatig geara. c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 134 Seynt Edward was gone oute of þis worlde, & was gone to God. 1468 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) I. 97 (MED) My ffadyr is gone to God also..my modyr on Saterday by the morne, and my ffadyr on Munday by [d]ayrove. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. ciiii Thomas duke of Excester, late departed to God. 1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1339/1 Tone gone to God,..still reigning tother. 1642 Times Alterations (single sheet) Windeb. What is become of the great Lord Deputy? Finch. Faith, the report goes that he is gon to God without a head. 1784 London Mag. May 405/1 Mother will have one mouth less to feed when I go to God Almighty. 1849 C. Brontë Let. 4 June (2000) II. 216 Her quiet—Christian death did not rend my heart as Emily's stern, simple, undemonstrative end did—I let Anne go to God and felt He had a right to her. 1874 P. de Rivières Holy Places i. vii. 67 Hardly are the Lawgiver and his brother in sight of the grand panorama.., when their souls depart to God. 1976 W. Stegner Spectator Bird i. iii. 38 Maybe, in her piety and wretchedness, she had insisted on seeing her husband go to God. 2003 Church Times 20 June 32/4 Our little district nurse now gone to God. †(b) Law. Of a cause, trial, etc.: to be dismissed from court indefinitely. Obsolete. [After Anglo-Norman and Law French aler a dieu (late 13th cent. or earlier).] ΚΠ 1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Kk3^v/1 Goe, is vsed sometime in a speciall signification in our common lawe: as to go to God, is to be dismissed the court. [Hence in later dictionaries.] b. with God: dead, deceased; in heaven. In early use also †mid God. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > dead person or the dead > [adjective] deadOE lifelessOE of lifeOE storvena1225 dead as a door-nail1362 ydead1387 stark deadc1390 colda1400 bypast1425 perishedc1440 morta1450 obita1450 unquickc1449 gone?a1475 dead and gone1482 extinct1483 departed1503 bygonea1522 amort1546 soulless1553 breathless1562 parted1562 mortified1592 low-laid1598 disanimate1601 carcasseda1603 defunct1603 no morea1616 with God1617 death-stricken1618 death-strucken1622 expired1631 past itc1635 incinerated1657 stock-dead1662 dead as a herring1664 death-struck1688 as dead as a nit1789 (as) dead as mutton1792 low1808 laid in the locker1815 strae-dead1820 disanimated1833 ghosted1834 under the daisies1842 irresuscitable1843 under the sod1847 toes up1851 dead and buried1863 devitalized1866 translated1869 dead and done (for, with)1886 daid1890 bung1893 (as) dead as the (or a) dodo1904 six feet under1942 brown bread1969 OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 114 And hi ealle nu mid Gode on ecnysse blyssiað. lOE St. Margaret (Corpus Cambr.) (1994) 170 And nu hi is mid Gode and mid eallum his halgum, and þær hi wunað nu and æfre wunian sceal in ealra worulda woruld a buton ænde. c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 251 Heoren is þe Ioye euerlastonde Wiþ god and wiþ godus sonde. ?1550 L. Ridley Expos. Epist. St. Paule to Philippians i. sig. E.iiii The soules of good men departed this lyfe are with god and with Christe in ioye blysse peace refresshynge comforte and in rest. 1617 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) II. 51 As due to his memory, who is with God. 1651 T. Fuller Abel Redevivus Ep. to Rdr. sig. A3^v Doctor Featly, now at rest with God. 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. lxxxvi. 305 Many letters..from the three reverend gentlemen, Dr. Blome, Mr. Arnold, and Mr. Tompkins, now with God. 1841 E. Churton Early Eng. Church xv. 273 Thou, who art now with God, canst best tell whether in committing it to me thou wast deceived. 1907 Friend 22 June 397/2 I have both a sight and earnest of eternal rest with God. 1937 Rotarian May 46/1 My father was an orthodox Baptist minister. He was a good man, and is now with God. 1996 Church Times 23 Feb. 20/4 I think of Helen and her sister—now with God. c. In proverbs and proverbial phrases.as sure as God made little apples: see apple n. Phrases 6. man proposes, (but) God disposes: see propose v. 1a. the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small: mill n.¹ Phrases 6. the nearer the church, the farther from God: see church n.¹ and adj. Phrases 1. ΚΠ a1325 (c1250) Prov. Hendyng (Cambr.) iv, in Anglia (1881) 4 182 (MED) He is iblessid oso goddis mowþe, Þat god craft lernit in is ȝougthe. c1450 MS Douce 52 in Festschrift zum XII. Neuphilologentage (1906) 45 Helpe God and haue alle..Spende, and God wyl sende; Spare, and euere bare. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxvii. 524 Ther-fore is seide a proverbe, that god will haue saued, no man may distroye. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) cxxx. 480 It is a comune prouerbe sayde, ‘whome that god wyll ayde, no man can hurt’. 1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 17 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 Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. H Spend, & god shall sende..saith thold balet. 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xii. sig. Eiv^v God is where he was. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 20 It is saide, God sends a curst cow short hornes. View more context for this quotation 1667 A. Cowley Garden in J. Wells Poems Divers Occasions 2 God the first Garden made, & the first City, Cain. 1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (at cited word) As sure as God's in Gloucestershire. 1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 175 God tempers the wind, said Maria, to the shorn lamb. 1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel III. iii. 79 The homely proverb, that men taunt my calling with—‘God sends good meat, but the devil sends cooks’. 1855 Harper's Mag. June 66/2 They would meet the emergency with the energy of faith and hope, knowing that God helps those who help themselves. 1912 Spectator 18 May 788/2 In the wisdom of the West..the necessity for hard work and for initiative is continually emphasised. ‘God gives the milk, but not the pail’, is typical of many sayings of the people. 1953 A. Huxley Let. 17 Aug. (1969) 683 It is to appear serially—of all places—in Esquire—which is at present engaged in serving God and Mammon. 1991 A. Beevor Inside Brit. Army (rev. ed.) p. xiii ‘God helps those who help themselves,’ said an infantry brigadier in the Ministry of Defence, dismissing any sympathy for understrength battalions. d. year of God: a particular year ( a.d.). Usually in in the year of God: = Anno Domini adv. Now somewhat rare and chiefly historical. [After post-classical Latin anno domini, lit. ‘in the year of the Lord’ (see Anno Domini adv.); compare earlier the year of our Lord God at lord n. and int. Phrases 2a.] ΚΠ 1473–4 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 1 The ferd day of the moneth of August, the ȝere of God etc. lxxiij ȝeris. 1542 tr. A. Geuffroy Order Greate Turckes Courte sig. g.i.^v Mehemet the first of his name..dyed in the yere of God .M.cccc.xviij [Fr. mourut lan mil quatre cens dishuict]. a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 99 The battell was strikin wpoun the Assentioun day in the ȝeir of god I^m iiij^c liij ȝeiris. a1693 in Sc. Presbyterian Eloquence (1738) 129 I have been this Year of God preaching against the Vanity of Women. 1703 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland xi. 155 l found the year of God upon the Lintel of a window in Castle-Sinclar to be 1607. 1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. viii. 221 Richard, called the Red-handed Wardour,..brought the castle and estate into the name of Wardour, in the year of God 1150. 1867 A. M. Bell Lect. Conveyancing I. iii. i. v. 608 The sasine in that case did not contain the year of God... It was accordingly found null. 1890 G. Neilson Trial by Combat xv. 51 Those dull pages, which tell of the purchase of eels and salmon..in the year of God 1289. 2005 MLN 120 165 The Khan alive and well, in the year of God 1298? e. out of God's blessing into the warm sun and variants: from a better to a worse situation. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > in adversity [phrase] > at the or one's worst > from a prosperous or thriving condition for (also to, into) the worseOE out of God's blessing into the warm sun1546 down (the) wind1600 on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1682 to the bad1802 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. H^v Out of gods blissyng, in to the warme soon. 1577 W. Fulke Overthrow & Confut. Doctr. Purgatory ii. xi. 350 in Two Treat. against Papistes The Church of Rome sendeth her bastards out of the blessing of God, not into the warme sonne, but into whot [sic] burning cooles of purgatory. a1612 J. Harington Epigrams (1618) ii. 56 Pray God they bring vs not, when all is done, Out of Gods blessing, into this warme sunne. 1612 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) 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. 1673 F. Kirkman Unlucky Citizen x. 169 What good could I expect to have, or learn from such a Master as I was now placed with? by changing my Masters.., I had mended the matter well, by coming out of Gods blessing into the warm Sun. 1710 E. Ward Satyrical Refl. on Clubs xxiv. 279 Captain Russell..made him one of his Retinue, and so remov'd him out of God's Blessing, into the warm Sun. 1881 A. C. Swinburne Mary Stuart i. ii. 54 She should be girt to ride, as the old saw saith, Out of God's blessing into the warm sun. 2009 BBC Monitoring Europe (Nexis) 22 Dec. For the MPC this would mean not only going out of God's blessing into the warm sun, but also falling on the ground. f. 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. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > according to other attributes horn of salvation (health)c825 fatherOE Our FatherOE leecha1200 searcher of (men's) heartsa1382 untempter1382 headstone of the cornerc1400 Valentinec1450 illuminator1485 sun?1521 righteous maker1535 shepherd1535 verity1535 strengthener1567 gracer1592 heart-searcher1618 heartbreaker1642 sustainera1680 philanthropist1730 the invisible1781 praise1782 All-Father1814 wisdom1855 omniscient1856 engracer1866 inbreather1873 God of the gaps1933 the great —— in the sky1968 1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. 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.] 1933 E. W. Barnes Sci. Theory & Relig. in Sci. News Let. 2 Sept. 157 To me the God of the trigger is as little satisfying as the God of the gaps. 1955 C. A. Coulson Sci. & Christian Belief i. 20 There is no ‘God of the gaps’ to take over at those strategic places where science fails. 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. 2010 Guardian 4 Sept. 30/2 The origin of life and the origin of consciousness are favourite loci for a god-of-the-gaps, but the origin of the universe is the perennial big gap. g. to play God: to act as if one were God; to attempt to control people or events; to interfere in matters regarded as beyond the (appropriate) sphere of human influence. Cf. to play the god at Phrases 4b. ΚΠ 1904 E. Phillpotts Amer. Prisoner iii. xi. 353 Sold the whole of 'em..played God and Fate—for two hundred pound—and liberty. 1922 Mexia (Texas) Evening News 17 Oct. 4/4 Here he begins the game of playing God to life's unfortunates. 1989 M. G. Field Success & Crisis in National Health Syst. Introd. 2 The decisions to ‘turn the machine off’ or ‘to play God’, that is deliberately choosing who is going to live and who is going to die. 2007 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 1 Dec. (Q weekend section) 21/1 (heading) Her job is to help families in their darkest hours, but some accuse her of playing God. h. act of God: see act n. Phrases 4. i. God is in the details (and variants) [after German der liebe Gott steckt im Detail God is in the detail (1925 in A. Warburg; compare quot. 1953)] : the success of a plan, enterprise, etc., is dependent on scrupulous attention to and execution of small, fine details.The phrase is particularly associated with the German Modernist architect Mies van der Rohe (see quot. 1957). ΚΠ 1953 W. R. Trask tr. E. R. Curtius European Lit. & Lat. Middle Ages ii. 35 We must..proceed from generalities to the concrete wealth of the substance of history... But, as Aby Warburg used to say to his students, ‘God is in detail [Ger. der liebe Gott steckt im Detail]’. 1957 Life 18 Mar. 68/1 While emphasizing fundamental principles of architecture, he [sc. Mies van der Rohe] reminds them that ‘God is in the details’. 1985 World Politics 37 560 If God is in the detail—..if it is the specificity, the concreteness of social life that brings us closest to understanding it, [etc.]. 2014 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 3 Dec. d1 I discovered Ms. Heatter's books when I was a teenager... I loved their exactitude... Suggestions like..chilling the beaters and bowl before whipping heavy cream for the fluffiest texture. God is in the details, as they say. P3. In oaths. a. by God, †before (also for, fore) God; also by God above, etc. Cf. by prep. 2. [Compare Anglo-Norman par deu and Middle French, French par Dieu (c1170).] From a desire to avoid the charge of taking God's name in vain arise various distorted or ‘minced’ pronunciations of the word: see cock n.⁶, dod n.¹ and int., Gad n.², gar int., Ged n.², Gog n.¹, goles n., golly int., gom n.³, gosh n., gosse n.¹, gud n., gum n.⁵; also adad int., adod int., bedad int., begad int., begar int., ecod int., egad int., igad int. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > egad by Goda1225 deusc1300 s'elpa1330 by Gogc1400 Gog of heavena1500 by cock?1548 mort dieua1593 (God) refuse me1596 God damn me1619 adad1664 agad1672 igad1672 egad1673 adod1676 ecod1677 gadso1677 ydadc1680 goles1734 s'gad1743 by (or my) gumc1815 gorblimey1896 a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 57 For god, let þu þet uuele beon. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7000 Vor gode [a1400 Trin. Cambr. bi god] þe nexte king..ne ȝef hom noȝt folliche so muche. c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 1098 ‘For gode’, queþ Beues, ‘þat ich do nelle’. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7934 ‘Bi godd o-liue’, he suor his ath. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 965 (MED) A mensk lady on molde mon may hir calle, for Gode [rhymes brode, lode]. c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) l. 469 (MED) It is nouȝt wel serued, by God þat al made. c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) l. 195 Be God þat boȝte me dere! c1500 Melusine (1895) 293 By god, my lord, shame is therof to you. ?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Cvj^v That is well sayd be god almyght. ?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. C.iv Pardoner. I thought ye lyed. Potycary. And so thought I by god that dyed. c1557 Enterlude of Youth (new ed.) sig. Bii^v A wyfe nay nay for God auowe He shall haue fleshe inoughe. 1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. C2^v Fran, Are they so? Comes, I before God are they. 1612 B. Jonson Alchemist i. iii. sig. C3^v 'Fore God, my intelligence Costs me more money, then my share oft comes too. View more context for this quotation 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 157 By God, Sir, I will doe for Queene Elizabeth that which I will not doe for my selfe. 1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. xxxvi. 276 Before God! I think the fellow's head is made of a wool-pack; for my shot rebounded from his face like a wad of spun-yarn from the walls of a ship. 1799 M. Hays Victim of Prejudice I. iii. 29 ‘By God!’ said he, ‘a little beauty! a Hebe! a wood-nymph! I must and will have a kiss.’ 1844 R. W. Emerson Poet in Ess. 2nd Ser. i. 43 He says with the old painter, ‘By God, it is in me, and must go forth of me’. 1885 J. Ormsby Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote III. ii. xxxiv. 384 ‘By God and upon my conscience’, said the devil, ‘I never observed it’. 1912 B. L. Reitman in P. Glassgold Anarchy! (2001) 271 You won't kiss the American flag, eh? By God, we'll make you; we'll ram it down your throat. 1915 J. Turner Let. 3 May in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 12 I do trust, before God, that these innocent-eyed French kiddies do not understand a word of that which they repeat—in our tongue. 1953 V. Randolph & G. P. Wilson Down in Holler 166 By God, I'll chop the damn' thing to pieces! 2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo 161 Well, by God she is a little darling! It's why I went for her. b. In the genitive with a following noun, expressing asseveration or adjuration. Preceded by by or (in adjuratory use: cf. Phrases 1b) by †for (rarely also †of) or without preposition. Altered or ‘minced’ forms of these oaths are also common: see ad n.², cock n.⁶, Cod n.⁴, cops int., cots n., Cuds n., Gad n.², Gog n.¹, gud n., od n.¹ and int., Uds n.For oaths in which the first element is reduced to merely the genitive ending, as 'Sblood, 'Sdeath, Zooks, zounds, etc., see the relevant main entry. (a) With an ordinary noun.In some of these oaths the noun denotes an attribute of God; more usually, God's has the sense ‘Christ's’, as in God's arms, God's death, etc. (cf. sense A. 5c). In some humorous oaths, as in God's brother, God's fish, God's hat, God's malt, the noun has no meaning in its connection, being substituted for some word of solemn import.God's blood, God's body, God's dines, God's heart, God's life, God's nails, God's mercy: see the second element. † (by) God's arms int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 326 By goddes armes if thow falsly pleye This dagger shal thurgh out thyn herte go. ?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.iiii^v Frewyll. I forsake thy company. Imagy. Goddes armes my company and why. (by) God's bones int. (also †for God's bones) [compare post-classical Latin per os Dei (13th cent. in a British source)] now archaic ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's bones by corpus bonesc1386 cock's bonesc1405 God's bonesc1410 od's bonesa1895 c1410 (c1390) G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale (Harl. 7334) (1868) Prol. l. 4 For goddes boones Tel out a tale. a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 870 (MED) Hast þou be wonet to swere als, By goddes bones or herte, fals? 1573 New Custome iii. i. sig. D ij Else I will smite thee..by goddes bones. 1599 Hist. Syr Clyomon & Clamydes sig. F Gos bones, turne in that sheep there. 1986 B. Erskine Lady of Hay xxvii. 355 Your tongue betrays you for a shrew and, by God's bones, I'll make a whore of you as well! † (by) God's bores int. [compare bore n.¹ 1c] Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's wounds God's woundsc1460 kocks nownesa1556 nounsa1556 God's bores1578 swounds?1589 zoundsa1593 oons1593 'Snowns1594 wounds1600 od's nounsa1616 Gad's nouns1677 odsoons1694 od zounds1696 zines?1701 swolks1738 zoontersa1763 od's wounds1773 Gadswoons1826 woundikins1836 1578 G. Whetstone Promos & Cassandra: 2nd Pt. iii. ii. sig. Jiv Why, by Gods bores, they can bothe see and marke, If a man steale, but a smouch in the darke. 1600 A. Munday et al. First Pt. True Hist. Sir I. Old-castle sig. C4 Gods bores, I am sory for't. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 142 Gods-bores, what a deale of doe is here about nothing? (by) God's bread int. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 society > faith > artefacts > consumables > eucharistic elements > bread > [noun] fleshc1000 ofleteOE mannaa1200 breada1225 bread of lifea1300 host1303 bodya1325 obleya1325 God's bodya1387 cakec1390 singing bread1432 bread of wheata1450 singing loaf1530 God's bread1535 bread god?1548 round robin?1548 holy bread1552 singing cake1553 Jack-in-the-box1554 wafer-cake?1554 wafer1559 wafer-bread1565 breaden god1570 mass cake1579 wafer-god1623 hostel1624 maker1635 hostie1641 oblata1721 altar bread1839 prosphora1874 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 932 That sall wee do, be Gods breid. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. v. 176 Gods bread, it makes me mad. 1881 J. Todhunter Rienzi ii. ii. 53 God's bread! my lord, I need no lawyer's craft In mangling words to think it null and void. 1990 Jrnl. Museum Educ. 15 9/2 My chess box is there in the center—you can see the board at the bottom—and God's bread it's a marvelous pastime. † by God's corpus int. [compare God's body n. at Compounds 2c and God's body! at body n. Phrases 3; compare Middle French par le corps Dieu (1388)] Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's body by God's corpusc1405 God's sides?1515 (by) Gog's arms, blood, body?1520 God's budkin1599 'Sbody1602 od's bobsa1625 'Sbud1676 Gadsbodikins1677 od's bodikins1677 'Sbodikins1677 Gad's bud1680 od's bud1682 'Sbobs1694 Gad's bobs1695 Gadsbudlikins1697 Cob's-body1708 c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 555 By goddes corpus this gooth faire and wel. † by God's crown int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 1943 Be Gods croun..I sall slay thee. † God's dainty int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's dignity or honour by God's dignityc1405 dainty1564 God's dainty1564 by God's dines1599 'Sdeynes1616 1564 W. Bullein Dialogue against Fever Pestilence f. 46 V. Gods dentie Jacke sauce whence came you? R... How pretely you can call verlet, and sweare by Gods dintie. (by) God's death int. (also †for God's death) [compare post-classical Latin per mortem Dei (from 12th cent. in British sources)] ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's death God's deathc1325 'Sdeath1606 c1325 Gilote & Johane in Chaucer Rev. (2004) 39 130/1 Alas, alas, for godes deth—such womon ys yshent! a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 379 Be goddes dede! Torrant bryngythe a devyll ys hed! a1586 (a1500) Freiris Berwik l. 236 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 139 Awalk for goddis deid. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 182 Yea, by God's death..ye love him well. 1932 R. Sabatini Black Swan v. 43 By God's death!.. She'll sink us in reply. 2004 C. Revard tr. Gilote et Jehane in Chaucer Rev. 39 130/2 God's death—your life is hell with such a louse! † by God's dignity int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's dignity or honour by God's dignityc1405 dainty1564 God's dainty1564 by God's dines1599 'Sdeynes1616 c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 350 Thou shalt be deed by goddes dignytee. a1586 (a1500) Freiris Berwik l. 297 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 141 I will yame haue be goddis dignite. † by God's doom int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) l. 2561 Syr, by Goddes dome, I rede þou wend right als þou com. c1503 Beuys of Southhamptowne (Pynson) sig. fii I graunt sayde Beuys by goddys dome. by God's eyes int. [compare post-classical Latin per oculos Dei (12th cent. in a British source)] now archaic ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 45 (MED) A knyȝt wes þet zuor be godes eȝen. a1450 Castle Perseverance l. 1109 I schal hym schende & wrekyn me, be Goddis yne. 1605 W. Camden Remaines 210 Let vs set vppon them, and slay them every mothers sonne; and by Gods eyes, when thou hast so done, thou hast killed all the faithfull friendes that thou hast in England. 1790 J. Berington Hist. Reign Henry II ii. 231 ‘Then, by God's eyes,’ said Henry in a rage, ‘he has excommunicated me.’ 2007 D. Cosby His Captive iii. 42 By God's eyes, he was tired. At this moment, he could sleep upon a flattened boulder. † by God's fast int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 ?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.ii What god almyghty by goddes fast at salysbury And I trowe eester day fell on whytsonday y^e yere. c1530 Hickscorner (c1550) E ij b By goddes fast I was ten yere in Newgate. God's fish int. [perhaps an alteration of God's flesh! at flesh n. 9d] now archaic ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's fish God's fish1570 od's fish1634 1570 Mariage Witte & Sci. v. i. sig. Ei^v Gods fishe hostes, and knowe you not mee. 1675 A. Marvell Wks. (1875) I. 431 I have a passable good estate, I confess, but, God's-fish, I have a great charge upon't. 1716 Lady 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. c1728 Earl of Ailesbury Mem. 649 Gods fish! when two rogues fall out, their master then is like to know the truth. 1917 in E. A. Robinson Merlin 18 We'll say, to pass the time, that I speak well. God's fish! The King had eyes; and Lancelot Won't ride home to his mother, for she's dead. 2011 C. Lovejoy Ravishing of Lady May ix God's fish, my lady, who told you such a tale? † (by) God's foot int. (also for God's foot) Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's foot God's footc1460 'Sfoot1602 foot1608 c1460 in R. Brotanek Mittelengl. Dichtungen MS 432 Trin. Coll. Dublin (1940) 99 (MED) For goddes fote! holde, for þis is thre. ?1550 R. Weaver Lusty Iuventus sig. D.i Yea by gods foote that I wyl be busye. 1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. F2 Gods foote, I crye God hartely mercy. God's fury int. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xi. 74 God's fury! there shall no passangers come here. 1851 J. Grant Bothwell II. ix. 111 God's fury, and his malison to boot! be on this white-livered dog—this foul traitor—. 1984 J. Rutherford tr. L. Alas La Regenta (2005) II. xix God's fury! Begad! A curse on him! He is always up to this kind of trick! † (by) God's gown int. [perhaps compare God's cope n.] Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 393 Or ȝe tuik skaith, be Gods goun [etc.]. 1895 Temple Bar Jan. 79 God's gown! but that wine was good! (by) God's guts int. now archaic ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1543 T. Becon Inuectyue agenst Swearing f. xvii How common an oothe nowe dayes is Gods flesh, Gods bloud,..Goddes guttes, and all that euer maye be rehearsed of God? 1573 New Custome ii. iii. sig. C iv^v Nowe by goddes guttes I will neuer staye, Tyll I finde meanes to ridde the beast out of the waye. 1995 D. Coward tr. A. Dumas Vicomte De Bragelonne (1998) lii. 361 Without saying once in course of the day, by God's guts, or a pox on it. † God's hat int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1569 T. Preston Lamentable Trag. Cambises D iv b Gods hat neighbour come away. † God's lady int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > (originally) with reference to Mary marrya1375 Marya1375 by (our) lakin1496 by the Mary mass1532 by God's mother?1544 marry (and) amenc1574 God's lady1589 marry-go-look1590 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 193 Gods lady I reckon my selfe as good a man as he. † (by) God's lid int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's eyelid God's lid1600 'Slid1606 Gad's lid1616 od's lid1616 Zlid1616 'Slidikins1694 slitterkins1786 1600 T. Dekker Old Fortunatus sig. H^v Nay gods lid, y'are not gon so. 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor ii. iii. sig. E4^v By Gods lid, and you had not confest it ——. View more context for this quotation 1609 Euerie Woman in her Humor sig. D3 By Gods-lid, if I had knowne [etc.]. 1834 R. M. Bird Calavar II. xxv. 191 How now, my noble friend! art thou hurt beyond speaking! God's lid! but I would hug thee, if thou didst not look so dismal! (by) God's light int. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 61 Gods light I was neuer cald so in mine owne house before. View more context for this quotation 1607 T. Heywood Woman Kilde with Kindnesse sig. D3 Gods light, hark within there. 1822 Atheneum: Spirit of Eng. Mags. Nov. 100/2 By God's light, coward, I have a mind to put this knife into you. 2009 S. Wiggs At King's Command 23 By God's light, Laszlo, he's all I have now. † God's lord int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 ?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Cv^v Goddis lorde seist not who is here now. 1600 T. Dekker Shomakers Holiday sig. G3 Gods lord tis late, to Guild Hall I must hie. † God's malt int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eiiii Gods malt Gammer gurton. by God's mother int. [compare Mother of God at mother n.¹ 5] ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > (originally) with reference to Mary marrya1375 Marya1375 by (our) lakin1496 by the Mary mass1532 by God's mother?1544 marry (and) amenc1574 God's lady1589 marry-go-look1590 ?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. D.i^v No stone lefte standynge by goddes mother. 1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard (1878) iv. 118 Now, by God's mother, if I respite him..He should not lose a hair. 1983 S. Raven September Castle i. 87 By God's Mother I speak only the truth. † by God's name int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 2191 (MED) Be godes name, Ichaue for þe sofred meche schame! 1644 S. Rutherford Lex, Rex Pref. sig. a3 King James cast him off, and did swear, By Gods name he intended to be King, (the Prelate maketh Blasphemy a vertue in the King). † for God's pain int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion God's passionc1460 by God's pinea1500 for God's paina1500 cock's passion1535 for the pashe of God?1553 God's my passion?1577 a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 23 Peasse, man, for Godys payn! (by) God's passion int. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion God's passionc1460 by God's pinea1500 for God's paina1500 cock's passion1535 for the pashe of God?1553 God's my passion?1577 c1460 in R. Brotanek Mittelengl. Dichtungen MS 432 Trin. Coll. Dublin (1940) 100 (MED) By goddes passioun! lousy horeson, In a bettre tyme mightest þou neuer come. 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 1438 That sall we do..be Gods passioun. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xvi. 153 Gods passion..said she, would thou haue me beare mo children yet. a1846 A. De Vere Mary Tudor, Pt. 2 (1847) i. ii. 165 God's Passion! Said I not how these fellows should be known? 1903 A. Austin Flodden Field i. 44 Now, by God's Passion, on this very hour, And on its undetermined issue, hangs The future of two great opposing Realms. 2001 V. Henley Border Hostage iv. 40 God's passion, woman, nothin' good ever came up from England! † by God's pine int. [pine n.¹] Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion God's passionc1460 by God's pinea1500 for God's paina1500 cock's passion1535 for the pashe of God?1553 God's my passion?1577 a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 35 I swere bi Godys pyne. c1503 Beuys of Southhamptowne (Pynson) sig. fiii^v I the tel by goddys pyne. † God's pity int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's pity God's pity1569 od's pittikinsa1616 1569 T. Preston Lamentable Trag. Cambises B j b Yea Gods pittie, begin ye to intreat me? 1606 G. Chapman Gentleman Vsher iv. i. sig. G4^v Gods pittie, what an errant Asse was I, To entertaine the Princes craftie friendship? 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. xv. 271 ‘God's pity! that was well said, my lord,’ said the Queen. 1912 L. N. Parker Drake (1913) ii. iii. 80 Queen (Deeply moved) God's pity!—My poor mariners!—My heart aches for you! by God's rood int. now archaic ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2127 (MED) Y wold þe litel gode, Ac y þe wraied neuer day, Y swere bi godes rode. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 20 Here by God's rood is the one maid for me. 1926 C. Stilson Sword Play vi. 91 ‘A comely boy, by God's rood!’ he drawled; ‘comely as any wench.’ 2005 J. Trapp Master of Pleasure xxvi. 268 ‘By God's rood,’ Godric cursed, striding inside. † (by) God's sacrament int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. C.iii^v Courtly abusyon ye dyd they so Fansy ye by goddes sacrament and with other mo. 1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eii^v Gods sacrament the villain knaue hath drest vs round about. † God's sacring int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 ?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 209 Gods sacringe I haue lost a noble at two settes. † (by) God's sides int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's body by God's corpusc1405 God's sides?1515 (by) Gog's arms, blood, body?1520 God's budkin1599 'Sbody1602 od's bobsa1625 'Sbud1676 Gadsbodikins1677 od's bodikins1677 'Sbodikins1677 Gad's bud1680 od's bud1682 'Sbobs1694 Gad's bobs1695 Gadsbudlikins1697 Cob's-body1708 a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 25 Bi Codys sydys, if thou do, I shall hang the apon this plo.] ?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. C.iiii^v By goddes sydes I hadde leuer be hanged. c1600 Club Law (1907) v. iv. 99 Gods sides hee beggs like a Coward. (by) God's soul int. now rare ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1345–9 Wardrobe Acct. Edward III in Archaeologia (1846) 31 43 (MED) Hay, hay, the Wythe swan! by godes soule, I am thy man! c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 24 By goddes soule..that wol nat I. 1573 New Custome i. ii. sig. B ij I can not by goddes sowle. a1586 Peblis to Play 18 Be Goddis saull, that is trew. 1993 Island News for Seniors Mar. 16/3 God's soul and body! you had to have your horses. (by) God's teeth (also tooth) int. [compare hell's teeth int. at hell n. and int. Compounds 2] ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 242 By Gods tooth (quoth King Iohn) he were a King indeede that had suche a Knighte. 1700 J. Tyrrell Gen. Hist. Eng. II. ii. vii. 735 He [sc. King John]..spoke many hard words against the Pope and his Cardinals, Swearing by God's Teeth (his usual Oath) that..he would forthwith send all the Prelates and Clergy of England to the Pope. 1831 P. Leicester Arthur of Brittany II. iii. 64 Cease, or by God's teeth, this hand shall teach thee respect. 1922 M. Dallett New Salome i. 17 She is so pretty! God's tooth, Francis, but I shall be angry soon. 2003 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 9 Nov. 3 So how many times has he spun the yarn? ‘God's teeth, I don't know. Thousands.’ † (by) God's will int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1579 T. Churchyard Gen. Rehearsall Warres sig. G.iv^v For by Gods will quod he (as it is my Lordes earnest woorde) if the Ryngraue lodge so nere my charge, the one of vs bothe shall take little reste. 1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. I^v Gods will tis sir Raph Smith. 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iv. i. sig. I2^v Draw, or by Gods will ile thresh you. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 154 Ho, The Towne will rise, godswill Leiutenant, hold. View more context for this quotation 1884 Little Arthur's Hist. of France xvii. 78 ‘Let the boy win his spurs,’ said he, ‘for by God's will, I desire that all the honour of the day shall be his.’ † of God's word int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 ?1550 R. Weaver Lusty Iuventus sig. D.ii This is an ernest fellow of gods worde. (by) God's wounds int. (also †for God's wounds) ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's wounds God's woundsc1460 kocks nownesa1556 nounsa1556 God's bores1578 swounds?1589 zoundsa1593 oons1593 'Snowns1594 wounds1600 od's nounsa1616 Gad's nouns1677 odsoons1694 od zounds1696 zines?1701 swolks1738 zoontersa1763 od's wounds1773 Gadswoons1826 woundikins1836 c1460 in R. Brotanek Mittelengl. Dichtungen MS 432 Trin. Coll. Dublin (1940) 100 Come þens, for goddes woundes fyve..Þou lyest, horesone. 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 991 That sall I nocht, be Gods wounds. a1649 A. Weldon Cat may look upon King (1652) 80 Hee instantly gave up the ghost with these words, Gods wounds, I am slain! 1779 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 204/1 God's wounds, Doughty, what dost thou mean to use this familiarity with me? 1932 R. Macaulay They were Defeated i. ii. 22 God's wounds, ye'd think the country and parliament was run mad, flouting and denying and insulting His Majesty the way they do. 2005 C. J. Farley Kingston by Starlight x. 79 By God's wounds you'd best remember those wise words and work harder at your stations. †(b) With an ordinary noun preceded by an adjective, or (occasionally) an adjective used elliptically. Obsolete.See also God's (also ods, uds) precious (blood, body, heart, etc.) at precious adj. 1b. ΚΠ c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Melibeus (Hengwrt) (2003) §18 Gladly..by goddes swete pyne. c1460 (c1390) G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale (Selden) (1868) Prol. l. 13 A-bide for godis digne passion. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xii. 118 A, Godys dere Dominus, What was that sang? a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xvi. 188 By Gottys dere nalys, I wyll peasse no langer. 1543 Chron. J. Hardyng v. f. lxvi She is a widowe & hath already children. By goddes blessed ladye, I am a bacheler & haue some too. ?1562 Thersytes sig. C.iiii^v Ye that I wyll, by goddes deare brother. ?1562 Thersytes sig. D.iii^v By goddes blessed brother Yf [etc.]. 1573 New Custome ii. iii. sig. C iv By goddes glorious woundes hee was worthy of none. 1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Ei A great deale more (by Gods blest,) then cheuer by the got. 1608 Merry Deuill of Edmonton sig. C2^v By Gods blessed Angell, Thou shalt well know it. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. i. 154 Gods blest Mother, I sweare he is true-hearted. View more context for this quotation (c) With nouns not found in other contexts, probably in most instances altered or fabricated forms.God's bodikins, God's nigs, God's pittikins, God's santy: see the second element. See also Godsokers int., and Gad n.² and int. Compounds. † (by) God's diggers int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1602 W. S. True Chron. Hist. Ld. Cromwell sig. E^v Well Ioane heele come this waye: and by Gods dickers ile tell him roundlie of it. 1647 J. Cleveland Char. London-diurnall 24 Then Roger was inspir'd, and by Gods-diggers, Hee'l sweare in words at large, and not in figures. 1688 T. D'Urfey Fool's Preferment iv. 66 The Gentlevolkes are huge loving, an't like your Worship, Godsdiggers, I was afraid they would have Buss'd me too. † God's dominus int. [compare God's lord int. at Phrases 3b(a)] Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 c1530 A. Barclay Egloges i. sig. B.iv^v Losse, goddys domynus to lose..thou hast no good Saue hoke and cokers, thy botell and thy hood. † (by) God's ludd int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 ?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 249 Gods ludd I near left my booke till I cam to the houre a catar waulinge. 1606 G. Chapman Sir Gyles Goosecappe i. i. sig. B By gods ludd thy Surname is neuer thought vpon here, I perceiue heeres no bodie giues thee any commendations. † by God's me int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. I4 Yet by Gods me, Ile take no wrong. 1616 B. Jonson Euery Man in his Humor (rev. ed.) iii. v. in Wks. 40 By gods mee, I marle, what pleasure, or felicitie they haue in taking this roguish tabacco! it's good for nothing, but to choke a man. † God's sokinges int. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous depardieuc1290 by God's namec1330 by God's roodc1330 by God's eyes1340 God's soul1345 for God's sakec1386 cock's soulc1405 God's armsc1405 by God's dooma1425 (by) (God's) nailsa1500 by God's fast?1515 God's lord?1520 God's sacramenta1529 God's dominusc1530 by God's crown1535 God's bread1535 God's gown1535 God's guts1543 of God's word?1550 God's hat1569 Gods me1570 marry (a) Godc1574 God's malt1575 God's ludd?1577 God's sacring?1577 God's sokinges?1577 trunnion?1577 (by) God's will1579 God's teeth1580 'Shearta1596 God's light1598 by God's me1599 'Snails1599 'Slight1600 God's diggers1602 'Swill1602 od's mea1616 od's my lifea1616 'Sprecious1631 'Sbores1640 odso1660 for sake('s) sake1665 Gad's precious1677 heartlikins1677 od1681 'Sdiggers1687 (Lord) love you (also your heart)1707 God's fury1748 heartikins1751 S'fire1791 nom de Dieu1848 'strewth1892 Lord lumme1895 lumme1898 ?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 195 Gods sokinges houlde your handes. (d) Occasionally with the noun omitted. ΚΠ ?1576 Common Condicions sig. Diij Ah Gods, now farewell Phrygia soyle. 1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle i. sig. D1 Bid the plaiers send Rafe, or by Gods—and they do not [etc.]. †(e) In expressions blending Phrases 3b(a) and Phrases 1c(b)(ii) (where save is omitted or contracted), as God's my arms, God's my passion, God's my pity, etc. Obsolete (archaic in later use). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > God's passion God's passionc1460 by God's pinea1500 for God's paina1500 cock's passion1535 for the pashe of God?1553 God's my passion?1577 ?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 189 Godes my armes sticke not to drawe your sworde. 1599 G. Chapman Humerous Dayes Myrth sig. B^v Gods my passion what haue I done? 1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore ii. i. 52 Gods my pittikins, some foole or other knocks. 1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore sig. D1 Nay, Gods my pitty, what an asse is that Citizen to lend mony of a Lord. 1638 W. Rowley Shoo-maker a Gentleman iv. sig. G4^v Hence you Whore-master knave, Gods my passion, got a wench with childe..: Precious coales, you are a fine youth indeed. 1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard iv. i. 156 God's my pity! Where's Hamilton? doth she ail too? c. In asseverations, as as God is my judge, as God is my witness, †so God me bless, †so God me mend, etc. Also with omission of so or as, and occasional alteration of the verb. Cf. as conj. 13, so adv. and conj. 19.so help me God, so God me rede, so God me speed, so God save me: see the verbs.marry (a) God: see marry int. 2a. [With as God is my witness compare post-classical Latin Deo teste (13th cent. in a British source).] ΚΠ c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 655 (MED) Child, so god þe rede, How were þou fram rohand lorn? c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1575 ‘Wolleþ ȝe ȝou defende?’..‘Ȝea, so god me mende.’ c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Thopas/Melibeus Link (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 4 Also wisly god my soule blesse Myne erys aken of thy drasty speche. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiii. 149 No, so God me blys. 1589 Rare Triumphes Loue & Fortune iv. sig. D.iv^v As god iuggle me when I came neere them [etc.]. 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iv. i. sig. H4^v As Gods my iudge, they should haue kild me first. View more context for this quotation 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor ii. ii. sig. E^v I am asham'd of this base course of life (God's my comfort) but [etc.] . View more context for this quotation 1620 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster iv. 48 God iudge me, I vnderstand you not. 1761 London Mag. Dec. 670/1 How they should be bloody, as God is my saviour, I cannot answer. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clare in Poems (new ed.) II. 196 ‘As God's above!’ said Alice the nurse, ‘I speak the truth: you are my child.’ 1893 E. Saltus Madam Sapphira 133 As God is my witness that girl is as straight as your sister. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind xxv. 428 As God is my witness, as God is my witness, the Yankees aren't going to lick me. I'm going to live through this, and when it's over, I'm never going to be hungry again. 1974 B. Friel Freedom of City in Sel. Plays (1984) 157 As God's my judge he was stuck in it for two days and two nights. 2005 Z. Smith On Beauty 427 I am gonna strike you down where you stand, as God is my witness, I will wear your ass out today. P4. In phrases not referring to a single Supreme Being. a. the god of this world [after post-classical Latin deus huius saeculi (Vulgate)] : the Devil, regarded as controlling or holding sway over the temporal world. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun] devileOE Beelzebubc950 the foul ghosteOE SatanOE warlockOE SatanasOE worsea1200 unwinea1225 wondc1250 quedea1275 pucka1300 serpenta1300 dragon1340 shrew1362 Apollyon1382 the god of this worldc1384 Mahoundc1400 leviathan1412 worsta1425 old enemyc1449 Ruffin1567 dismal1570 Plotcocka1578 the Wicked One1582 goodman1603 Mahu1603 foul thief1609 somebody1609 legiona1616 Lord of Flies1622 walliman1629 shaitan1638 Old Nicka1643 Nick1647 unsel?1675 old gentleman1681 old boy1692 the gentleman in black1693 deuce1694 Black Spy1699 the vicious one1713 worricow1719 Old Roger1725 Lord of the Flies1727 Simmie1728 Old Scratch1734 Old Harry1777 Old Poker1784 Auld Hornie1786 old (auld), ill thief1789 old one1790 little-good1821 Tom Walker1833 bogy1840 diabolarch1845 Old Ned1859 iniquity1899 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. iv. 4 In whiche the God of this world [L. deus huius saeculi] hath blyndid the soules of men out of the bileue. ?c1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 370 Ȝif þe gospel is hid, it is hid to hem þat perschen, in þe whiche god of þis worlde haþ blyndid þe mynde of unfeiþful men. 1543 T. Becon New Yeares Gyfte sig. E.v Satan the God of this worlde, had blynded our mindes, that we should not beleue, vnlesse the lyghte of the glorious gospell of Christ, whiche is the Image of God, should shyne vnto vs. 1612 W. Sclater Christians Strength Ep. Ded. sig. A2 Wee fight not against flesh and bloud: wee encounter and conquer, yea overconquer the God of this world. a1744 I. Terry Sixteen Serm. (1746) 213 This World and its Inhabitants are frequently represented as under the Dominion of the Devil. For he is called the God of this World. 1834 J. Hambleton in Brit. Pulpit (1839) 1 180 The god of this world holds such multitudes in his iron bondage. 1875 H. Read (title) The God of this world: the footprints of Satan: or, the devil in history. 1965 D. M. Lloyd Jones Spiritual Depression v. 75 Unfortunately it is true I was blinded by the god of this world, but thank God His grace was more abundant. 1994 Third Way Mar. 4/2 Only those who have been blinded by the god of this world deny that private and public conduct are to some extent linked. b. to play the god: to play the part of a god; to attempt to control people or events; to interfere in matters regarded as beyond the (appropriate) sphere of human influence. ΚΠ 1578 T. Churchyard Disc. Queenes Entertainem. sig. Diij^v To play the God, fye foolish boy, leaue of these toyes in time,..Thou art not of the race of Gods, thou art some Beggers chitte. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 338 As her appetite shall play the god With his weake function. View more context for this quotation 1738 W. Robinson Poems on Several Occasions in Intriguing Milliners 67 Ingenious Hogarth..plays the God with all he draws! 1766 T. Amory Life John Buncle II. xiii. 491 His breeding and his eloquence..induced me to fancy him an angel of a man... For three months he played the god, and I fondly thought there was not such another happy woman as myself in all the world. 1851 H. Spencer Social Statics xxxii. 475 We are not to be guilty of that practical atheism, which, seeing no guidance for human affairs but its own limited foresight, endeavours itself to play the god. 1870 S. Winkworth tr. C. C. J. Bunsen God in Hist. III. vi. iv. 328 When Alexander played the god, his life and empire were forfeited. 1966 W. H. Stone Cave & Mountain xii. 322 Ronny, accused by his mother of playing the god and enjoying it. c. a feast, sight, etc. (fit) for the gods: a delightful or amazing feast, sight, etc. ΚΠ 1584 R. Greene Morando sig. E.iv Leaue of to inueigh against Loue, since it is a labour fit for the Gods. a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 173 Let's carue him, as a Dish fit for the Gods. View more context for this quotation 1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 19/1 It is pronounced ‘fine’, ‘super-excellent’, ‘food fit for the gods!’ 1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 456/1 He considered pepper-pot a dish fit for the gods. 1898 Tit-Bits 21 May 154/2 The avidity with which they polished off joss candles was a sight for the gods. 1938 Scotsman 19 Aug. 14/2 To people out of sorts with life,..they provided a feast fit for the gods. 2002 Best of Brit. Nov. 49/2 At Christmas we can still run to a can of the 1943 Spam as a treat... If you can find a good can of the '43 what's not blown, that's food fit for the gods. d. ye gods (and little fishes)!: used to express indignation, disbelief, or amazement, esp. in a consciously archaic or grandiose way. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > exclamation of wonder [interjection] > mingled with indignation ye gods (and little fishes)!1761 ?1534 R. Whittington tr. Cicero Paradox sig. D.iiii^v O ye goddes immortall [L. O di immortales!], men knowe not how great a gayne or profyte is for a man to be a sparer and a sauer.] 1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada ii. iii. iii. 116 Ye gods, why are not Hearts first pair'd above! 1709 Brit. Apollo 3–5 Aug. Her Coughing and Squelching, Her F..ting and Belch[in]g, Ye Gods, what a Consort is here! 1761 J. Boswell Let. 17 Dec. in Lett. A. Erskine & J. Boswell (1763) 56 It is Captain Andrew! It is! it is! Ye Gods! he seizes! he opens! he reads! 1807 C. Wilmot Let. 15 May in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 243 Oh! ye Gods! How you are to be envied & every Mortal alive. 1820 Mrs. Purcell Orientalist I. v. 83 Ye gods and little fishes! what roses and lilies—pink, satin, and sable. 1871 L. M. Alcott Little Men ii. 27 But out of school,—Ye gods and little fishes! how Tommy did carouse! 1909 H. G. Wells Ann Veronica i. 9 ‘Ye gods!’ she said at last. ‘What a place!’ 1964 W. Markfield To Early Grave (1965) xi. 187 He cried to himself ‘Ye Gods!’ and ‘Whoosh!’ 1992 L. Marks & M. Gran New Statesman 74 Ye Gods and little fishes, that it should come to this! e. god from (also out of) the (or a) machine: = deus ex machina n. [After post-classical Latin deus ex machina and its etymon ancient Greek θεὸς ἐκ μηχανῆς (see deus ex machina n.).] ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > providential assistance god from (also out of) the (or a) machine1676 deus ex machina1697 1676 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges Acct. Voy. Athens iii. 304 As the Criticks in Rome upon the same occasion were wont to say, Deus è Machina; Now for a God from a Machine. 1735 Bayle's Gen. Dict. Hist. & Crit. (new ed.) II. 484/2 The best expedient, when such disputes arise, is to have recourse to the secular Arm, like a God from a machine, in order to cut the knot. 1869 A. Trollope Phineas Finn 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 R. Kipling Soldiers Three 1 (title of story) The god from the machine. 1910 G. K. Chesterton George Bernard 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. 1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) xiii. 407 This gift which India, greatest of all gods from the machine, has just dropped into their astonished laps. f. Proverbs. (a) whom the gods would destroy they first make mad and variants. [Apparently after post-classical Latin quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat, lit. ‘those who God wants to perish, he first makes mad’ (1607 or earlier), itself perhaps after Hellenistic Greek ὄταν ὁ δαίμων ἀνδρὶ πορσύνῃ κακά, τὸν νοῦν ἔβλαψε πρῶτον, lit. ‘when a spirit prepares evil for a man, he first confuses the mind’, apparently quoted from an earlier source in Athenagoras of Athens Legatio sive Supplicatio pro Christianis, chap. 26 section 2; compare also a very similar passage in Scholia (Byzantine Greek or earlier) on Sophocles Antigone 620. A former attribution of the proverb to Euripides cannot be confirmed.] ΚΠ 1804 M. Edgeworth Murad i. in Pop. Tales (ed. 2) II. 13 Whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first deprive of understanding. 1875 M. Thompson Hoosier Mosaics 180 Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. 1997 P. K. Chadwick Schizophrenia Pref. p. xi ‘Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.’ A saying more likely to spread prejudice against the seriously mentally ill it is difficult to imagine. (b) whom the gods love die young. [After classical Latin quem dī dīligunt adulēscēns moritur ( Plautus Bacchides l. 816-817), itself after ancient Greek ὅν οἱ θεοὶ ϕιλοῦσιν ἀποθνήισκει νέος ( Menander Dis Exapaton frag. 4).] ΚΠ 1546 W. Hugh Troubled Mans Med. ii. sig. B.viii^v But among all other, saith the great poete Menander: Most happy be they and best belouid of god, that dye whan they be yong.] 1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IV xii. 77 ‘Whom the gods love die young’ was said of yore. 1878 R. L. Stevenson Aes Triplex in Cornhill Mag. Apr. 437 When the Greeks made their fine saying that those whom the gods love die young, I cannot help believing they had this sort of death also in their eye. 1972 A. Price Col. Butler's Wolf xx. 224 ‘Whom the gods love die young’, the war taught us that. g. on the knees of the gods: see knee n. 2c. in the lap of the gods: see lap n.¹ 5c. Compounds C1. a. General use as a modifier. (a) With first element in singular form. † god-belly n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1540 R. Wisdome in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1822) I. ii. App. 473 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 Christian Relig. Appeal ii. 20 That devouring God-belly-gulph Heliogabalus. god clan n. [originally after Swedish gudaklan (1886 in the passage translated in quot. 1889)] ΚΠ 1889 R. B. Anderson tr. V. Rydberg Teutonic Mythol. 142 One of the god-clans [Sw. af gudaklanerna] has committed the murder. 2008 M. Skye Goddess Afoot! 207 To cut off Sif's hair shows a lack of respect for her, as well as for her entire god clan, known as the Aesir. God-consciousness n. [after German Gottesbewusstsein (1812)] ΚΠ 1841 H. J. Rose tr. A. Neander Hist. Christian Relig. & Church II. 235 Even the common God-consciousness [Ger . Gottesbewusstseyn], the consciousness of the God, in whom we live and move and have our being, received a new impulse from Christianity. 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 Man of Tomorrow (title page) Human evolution impelling man onward to God-consciousness. 2009 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 22 Aug. a8/1 Ramadan was prescribed by God so that the Muslims can achieve ‘taqwa’, or God-consciousness. god-folk n. ΚΠ 1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd iii. 217 The kin of the God-folk. 1916 V. S. Howard tr. S. Lagerlöf Emperor or Portugallia 18 He argued with himself that it was wrong in him to borrow trouble, when his child had such godfolk as the master and mistress of Falla. 1993 R. Shell iCED 111 And I shouldn't cuss Jehovah's Witnesses because they're God Folk and you gotta be careful how you treat or think of God Folk because they can get in your chest and under your skin. † god-Greek n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1844 E. B. Barrett Dead Pan in Poems II. 266 Shall..no hero take inspiring From the God-Greek of her lips? 1862 John Bull 15 Nov. 731/1 A translator of Homer has to turn that wonderful ‘god-Greek’ into English. God-idea n. ΚΠ 1843 Standard 28 Jan. What is the God-idea promulgated for?—To subjugate the many for the benefit of the few. 1869 H. Tuttle (title) The career of the God-idea in history. 1910 E. S. Ames Psychol. Relig. Experience 319 The God-idea is a teleological idea. 1949 Horizon Mar. 225 However primary and archetypical the God-idea may be. 2012 Evening Gaz. (Nexis) 25 Feb. 12 I assume that Mr Potts would remain a good person without the God idea? god-kin n. [in quot. 2003 translating post-classical Latin commater commother n. (from a medieval source); compare Middle English godsibbe (see gossip n. 1).] ΚΠ 1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd iv. 379 Round the fettered and bound they throng As men in the bitter battle round the God-kin over-strong. 2003 D. L. Smail Consumption of Justice 105 Uga, moreover, was Tomas's god-kin, a spiritual relationship that would more or less exclude the possibility of a profound social gulf between them. god-light n. ΚΠ 1838 E. B. Barrett Seraphim & Other Poems 194 Or Poet Plato, had th' undim Unsetting Godlight broke on him. 1867 P. J. Bailey Universal Hymn 6 Moon, whose gleam Reflective, types the God-light, wherewith shines Man's soul. 1909 E. Gosse Autumn Garden 19 O million shafts of pines, On each of whom the god-light shines, In you the miracle I see Of multitude in unity. 2004 I. McDonald River of Gods (2005) xlvi. 546 The god-light fading into the background microwave hum of the universe. god-love n. ΚΠ a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo iv, in Wks. (1721) III. 109 The holy Jesus..Co-effluent God-Love on his Spirit shed. a1881 S. Lanier Poems (1908) 76 Wife-love flies level, his dear mate to seek: God-love darts straight into the skies above. 1935 M. R. Anand Untouchable 205 Gandhi..will teach us the true religion of God-love which is the best swaraj (self-government). 1993 Time 15 Mar. 24 Here is the paradox of God-love as a life-force that is capable of transforming itself into a death-force. God-murder n. [originally after post-classical Latin deicidium (1535 or earlier: see deicide n.²); compare God-slaughter n.] ΚΠ 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (1 John iii. 15) 474 By like reason we may say that sin is God-murther. ?1842 G. J. Holyoake Spirit of Bonner in Disciples of Jesus (ed. 2) 5 From the days of Constantine to the god-murders perpetrated on the fields of Rathcormac, Christianity has swam in blood. 1998 R. K. Hughes Luke II. xxxiii. 257 Their crime, which would take place within the week, was not just homicide but deicide—God-murder! God-slaughter n. [after post-classical Latin deicidium deicide n.²; compare manslaughter n.; compare also God-murder n.] ΚΠ 1647 J. Trapp Mellificium Theol. in Comm. Epist. & Rev. 730 This is Deicidium, God-slaughter. 1842 Boston Investigator 22 June If I should ever..wish to commit a spiritual murder, or God-slaughter. 2006 B. Henderson Simple Gifts (2008) iv. 149 ‘There Is a Balm in Gilead’ wants none of this God-slaughter. god-state n. ΚΠ 1811 F. Jeffrey Let. 25 Jan. in Ld. Cockburn Life Ld. Jeffrey (1852) II. 131 Murray is in great preservation—a little too bustling and anxious for my epicurean god state. 1852 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 5) 412 He in the God-state first..passed away. 2007 J. Goldberg Liberal Fascism vi. 234 The Social Gospellers were mostly postmillennialists in their aspirations: they believed the Hegelian God-state was the kingdom of heaven on earth. (b) Appositive. god-Caesar n. ΚΠ 1881 A. J. Thébaud Church & Moral World ii. i. 191 To offer incense to idols or to the image of the god-Cæsar. 1920 H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. 282/2 He [sc. the Jew] stood out manfully against the worship of any god-Caesar. 1991 S. Waller tr. H. K. Fierz Jungian Psychiatry xxi. 395 The regression to the God-Caesar was hollow. god-crocodile n. ΚΠ a1661 B. Holyday in tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 272 Whiles..the god-crocodile seem'd tame, all was well. 1796 tr. C.-F. Volney Ruins (ed. 3) xxii. 251 Thus the God Ichneumon made war against the God crocodile; the God wolf wanted to eat the God sheep; the God stork devoured the God serpent. 2002 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 7 Mar. One legend says that the original settlers rode on the back of a giant god-crocodile into the midst of the lake to start their homes. god-fire n. [in quot. 1884 after Sanskrit deva god (see deva n.) + agni fire (see ignite v.), apparently by folk-etymological interpretation of the name Devāṅgan] ΚΠ 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) i. 52 This their God-fire is not composed of common combustibles. 1884 Gazetteer Bombay Presidency XVII. 133 (note) Their descendants are called Devágni or god-fire Bráhmans. 2002 K. Reimann Prince of Fire & Ashes xxvi. 457 Tullier..screamed, his clothes bursting into flame, the God-fire searing his skin. † God-foe n. [after ancient Greek ἀντίθεος (see etymology at anti- prefix)] Obsolete ΚΠ ?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses i. 4 The God-foe Polypheme [Gk. ἀντίθεον Πολύϕημον]. god-king n. [with appositive uses compare German Gottkönig (17th cent. or earlier)] ΚΠ 1831 London Lit. Gaz. 29 Jan. 68/3 The identity of the god-king Oden, or Woden, with Buddha and Mercury, is confirmed beyond all dispute. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. ii. §48. 159 All titles of honour are originally the names of the god-king. 1954 Life 22 Feb. 83/1 The cathedral doors opened and the 10-year-old God-King stepped slowly out, supported to right and left by two abbots. 2002 Church Times 31 May 8/3 It was not to be just any Hindu temple: it would mark the place where the god-king Ram was born. † god mercer n. Obsolete ΚΠ a1640 P. Massinger & J. Fletcher Very Woman iii. i. 132 in P. Massinger 3 New Playes (1655) They have new Creators, God Tailor, and God Mercer. † god-ram n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1772 T. Nugent tr. J. F. de Isla Hist. Friar Gerund I. 522 Building to the God-Ram [Sp. Dios Carnero] the first temple. (c) With first element in plural form. † gods-avengers n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1869 W. E. Gladstone Juventus Mundi xv. §3 527 That under~ground region, in which dwelt the Gods-Avengers, and which was the realm of Aïdes and Persephone. † gods-guardians n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God iii. xiv. 125 For all the helpe of these gods-guardians [L. diis praesidibus], there was not one King of them that continued his raigne in peace. 1876 J. P. Newman Sermons 303 I prefer the good old Protestant way, going directly to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Away with your gods-protectors, your gods-guardians! 1911 A. C. Gaebelein Prophet Daniel (ed. 2) xi. 182 These gods guardians, the Virgin Mary, saints, and angels, were utterly unknown, as mediators and invocable guardians, in the primitive apostolic church. b. Objective. (a) With agent nouns. God-hater n. [in quot. 1618 paraphrasing Psalm 83:2] ΚΠ 1618 T. Adams Happines of Church i. 25 He calls them Gods enemies, tumultuous, proud, God-haters. 1643 J. Vicars (title) A looking-glasse for malignants. Or, Gods hand against God-haters. 1884 Catholic World June 328 The incisive cynic and God-hater, Voltaire. 2005 Evening Standard (Nexis) 11 May 41 Bruckner's seventh promised a heavenly immortality that a God-hater like Hitler regarded as his divine right. God-maker n. ΚΠ ?1531 R. Barnes Supplic. Kinge Henrye VIII f. C.xxxiii^v Now wolde I know of these new godmakers by whose power and helpe y^t the fyrste sayncte came in to heuen. 1721–6 W. Byrd Commonplace Bk. (2001) 120 One of his captains thought it too gross, after complementing Alexander with being the offspring of a God to allow him also to be a God-maker. 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. 1995 New Scientist 21 Jan. 49/2 Let the word-spinners and god-makers keep it for their own. God-monger n. ΚΠ 1842 Oracle of Reason 1 406/2 I would seriously advise him..to leave the god-mongers to fight their own battles. 1883 J. Parker Apostolic Life II. 206 You will be but jostling a whole crowd of god-mongers. 2004 Halifax (Nova Scotia) Daily News (Nexis) 11 Mar. 16 God-mongers such as Rush Limbaugh and Jimmy Swaggart seem particularly susceptible to this phenomenon. God-murderer n. [compare God-murder n. at Compounds 1a(a); compare earlier God-hater n. and also God-slayer n.; compare further deicide n.¹] ΚΠ 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (Rom. i. 30) 5 Haters of God. And so God-murtherers. 1861 Times 1 Mar. 9 It is the Emperor who has absolved himself in vain. So he is ‘God-murderer’. 2009 M. Small & V. Shayne Remember Us 16 The Gentiles could not escape from a long tradition of thinking of us as Christ-killers and God murderers. God-slayer n. [compare God-slaughter n. at Compounds 1a(a); compare earlier God-hater n. and also God-murderer n.; compare further deicide n.¹] ΚΠ 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (Coloss. i. 21) 262 Haters of God..and so God-slaiers. 1877 P. G. Medd Sermons viii. 81 He would be a God-slayer, too, if that were possible, and would sit alone and supreme over the wreck that he had made. 2005 J. Carey (title) Godslayer. (b) With present participles and verbal nouns. See also God-fearing adj., God-loving adj. God-adoring adj. ΚΠ 1642 J. Vicars God in Mount 64 That pair royall of God-adoring Hebrews. a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo in Wks. (1721) III. 326 A God-adoring Race. 2005 Pittsburgh Tribune Rev. (Nexis) 16 May The best illustration of a newly pious face with God-adoring oratory. God-affronting adj. ΚΠ 1660 T. Watson Beatitudes 233 Unbelief is a God-affronting sin. a1693 M. Bruce Good News in Evil Times (1708) 10 The most God-affronting Perjury. a1860 W. B. Weed Sermons (1861) xxxviii. 401 A self-polluted, God-outraging Adam was my father; and I his no less self-polluted, no less God-affronting son! 2008 Deadspin (Nexis) 11 Feb. For the rest of his God-affronting career. God-bearing adj. [after Hellenistic Greek θεοτόκος (see Theotokos n.)] ΚΠ 1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 210 We doe beleeve..that the wombe of the God-bearing Virgin, and the Temple of the holy Ghost, that is, her sacred body, to have beene assumed into heaven. 1885 W. de G. Birch Life King Harold Prol. 105 The glorious and God-bearing Cross. 1999 L. Kennedy All in Mind v. 99 At the Council of Ephesus..it was agreed that Mary should be deemed theotokos, literally God-bearing and therefore Mother of God. † God-contemning adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1621 G. Sandys tr. Ovid First Five Bks. Metamorphosis i. 6 A God contemning Race [L. contemptrix superum], Greedie of slaughter. a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 33/1 Men awless, lawless live..a God-contemning Race. 1854 Times 15 June 9/6 The punishment of God-contemning beings. God-despising adj. ΚΠ a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 34/2 God-despising Wights. 1853 ‘M. Twain’ Let. 28 Nov. (1987) I. 29 I never..before saw so many whisky-swilling, God-despising heathens as I find in this part of the country. 2010 J. Leeman Church & Surprising Offense of God's Love i. i. 73 In our individualistic, skeptical, anti-authority, God-despising age, we are instinctively repulsed by the idea of being bound by anything. God-detesting adj. ΚΠ a1711 T. Ken Hymnarium 111 in Wks. (1721) II. The Sin, which..from the God-detesting Spirit streams. 2002 Salon.com (Nexis) 14 Jan. The bitter, fantastic outbursts of his God-detesting old age. God-disowning adj. ΚΠ 1684 J. Main in Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 334 I declare it to be a horrid wickedness, a God-disowning and a God-daring course. 1895 J. Smith Perm. Message Exod. xv. 250 This God-disowning, good-defying spirit. 1968 K. Cragg Christianity in World Perspective v. 141 The world of self-centred, idol building, religious preening, God disowning, humanity to which we all belong. 2003 W. M. Swartley Homosexuality v. 83 Might western culture have become a God-disowning culture similar to that spoken of in Romans 1:18–32? † God-dissembling adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1718 N. Rowe tr. Lucan Pharsalia 180 The wily, fearful, God-dissembling Maid. 1876 W. H. M. H. Aitken Ten Days' Mission (ed. 3) xii. 193 It is ‘working’ now—the apostle tells us—this God-dissembling power—‘Mystery of iniquity!’ the travesty of Divine Omnipotence, instituted by the malignant ingenuity of hell! God-dreading n. and adj. ΚΠ a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 29205 Þe gift o wijt, of vnder-standing, O consail, strenght, o gode dreding. 1906 Amer. Educ. Jan. 266/1 That God-dreading code of Blue Laws. 1988 Los Angeles Times 26 June (Bk. Review) 11/3 He..tells the God-dreading Lark, ‘It makes me sad you're sullen..because I know God hates sullen people.’ † God-estranging adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1667 J. Janeway Heaven upon Earth 353 Unbelief..is one of those dreadful and God-estranging sins, which leads on whole Legions against the Almighty. 1897 Presbyterian & Reformed Rev. 8 602 Sin is not with them the utterly vile, criminal, God-defying and God-estranging thing which it is with Paul and with John. God-forgetting adj. ΚΠ 1644 W. Barton Bk. Psalms 15 The wicked shall be turn'd to Hell, These God-forgetting men. 1850 T. Carlyle Latter-day Pamphlets iv. 39 Putrid unveracities and godforgetting greedinesses. 1883 Cent. Mag. Aug. 535/1 Benighted, bewildered, sniffing, sneering, God-forgetting unfortunates as we are? 2005 M. Lickona Swimming with Scapulars iii. 199 I am hoping that the shock of cold will rouse me from my God-forgetting material stupor. † God-gastering adj. [ < god n. + gastering, present participle of gaster v.] Obsolete ΚΠ 1603 S. Harsnett Declar. Popish Impostures 73 The God-gastring Giants, whom Jupiter overwhelmed with Pelion and Ossa. 1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders i. i. 20 They tell vs strange tales of god-gastering Giants, who heaped mightie mountains one vpon another. † God-hymning adj. Obsolete ΚΠ a1711 T. Ken Urania in Wks. (1721) IV. 448 God-hymning Saints. 1881 G. A. Jackson tr. in Fathers of Third Cent. II. 106/2 Sweet the life Of the God-hymning, O Christ Jesus. † God-intenerating adj. [ < god n. + intenerating adj. at intenerate v. Derivatives] Obsolete ΚΠ a1711 T. Ken Urania in Wks. (1721) IV. 519 God-intenerating Pray'rs. God-killing n. and adj. [with early uses compare God-murder n. at Compounds 1a(a) and also deicide n.²; in quot. 1877 after Maori tā atua ( < tā to strike + atua atua n.)] ΚΠ 1674 E. Calamy et al. Saints Memorials 177 Sin is by some of the Antients called, God-murther, or God-killing. 1678 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iii. 65 Christ's crucifixion..was a sin..containing..God-killing bloud-guiltinesse. 1864 R. F. Burton Mission to Gelele I. 95 Thus there is a baptême de feu as well as a baptême d'eau; fire and water, to say nothing of the gauntlet, must combine to efface the god-killing crime. 1877 Trans. & Proc. N.Z. Inst. 1876 9 23 The literal sense of ‘ta atua’ being, god-striking or god-killing. 2010 S. Mebus Sorcerer's Secret xiii ‘Maybe I'll just take care of you!’ Kid Dropper cried, pulling out his god-killing knife and launching himself at Tweed. God-making n. ΚΠ 1546 J. Bale First Examinacyon A. Askewe f. 36^v We must now beleue in the bawdrye of prestes, or that their Sodometrye and Whoredome for want of marryage, can be no impediment to their Godmakynge. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 652 Art..in this matter of God-making, commonly gets the upper hand. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 27 Nov. 2/1 Then the pupils are painted in, and the process of god-making, or deification, is complete. 2007 L. Saintcrow Devil's Right Hand (end matter) It is the simplest and most basic form of godmaking, hardwired into the human neural net. God-mocking adj. ΚΠ 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. vi. 328 A God-mocking equiuocation. 1899 Flaming Sword 9 June 8/2 Why, I think he would kick the whole hypocritical congregation into the street, blow the God mocking building at the moon, and then turn on the fireworks. 2010 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 17 June a11 What followed [Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion] was a spate of god-mocking volumes. God-opposing adj. ΚΠ 1643 J. Owen Θεομαχία Ἀυτεξουσιαστικη iv. 24 Their proud God-opposing errors. 1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 306 Amaziah and the God-opposing party. 2011 P. Copan Is God a Moral Monster? xiii. 146 The negative, sometimes God-opposing association bound up with the Old Testament use of the term foreigner. God-resembling adj. ΚΠ 1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion v. 76 Her god-resembling sonne [Achilles]. 1802 C. Lamb John Woodvil ii. 49 All things that live, From the crook'd worm to man's imperial form, And God-resembling likeness. 1984 L. Dupré in G. P. Schner Ignatian Spirituality in Secular Age 18 The spiritual soul does not look for ‘God-resembling’ creatures. It embraces all beings with equal fervour: the high and the lowly, the good and the bad. God-seeing adj. [originally (in quot. 1837) reflecting a false etymology of the personal name Israel (see Israel n.), which associates the name with Hebrew 'īš man, rā'āh to see, and ēl God (see bethel n.)] ΚΠ 1837 R. Carlile Abstr. of Lect. to prove that Bible is Mythological Volume 12 The word Israel, signifies a sight of God, and, as a name applied to man, signifies a God-seeing man, or a student in physical science. 1876 A. Ransom tr. T. Keim Hist. Jesus of Nazara (ed. 2) I. 284 The priest and God-seeing prophet. 1892 J. Hutchison Our Lord's Signs i. 25 A believing God-seeing heart. 2001 W. M. Thackston tr. in Album Pref. & Other Documents 5/2 His God-seeing eye has opened the gates of paradise to his community through intercession. c. Instrumental, locative, etc. (chiefly with past participles). See also godforsaken adj. God-appointed adj. ΚΠ a1732 T. Boston Illustr. Doctr. Christian Relig. (1796) III. 76 Immodest apparel..God appointed apparel. 1832 W. Godwin Orphans of Unwalden (1835) xv. 150 This God-appointed sense of hearing. 1929 W. B. Yeats Winding Stair 11 And God-appointed Berkeley that proved all things a dream. 2005 Cincinnati Apr. 130/3 Pupils may be prepared to take their God-appointed places in the home, the church, the state, and their vocations or professions. God-assigned adj. ΚΠ 1842 E. A. Poe in Graham's Mag. Mar. 187/1 His greatness has its office God-assigned. 1894 C. L. Johnstone Canada 56 Carrying on the God-assigned task of conquering the earth. 2004 M. E. Snodgrass Encycl. Kitchen Hist. (2005) 231 Some clergymen, who believed kitchen work the god-assigned task of females. † God-begot adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 4 All souls, impregned with spirit, God-begot! 1887 W. Morris tr. Homer Odyssey I. ii. 30 Odysseus, the God-begot. 1908 W. A. Gardner tr. Euripides Ion in In Greece with Classics i. 5 Never have I learned..That happiness to mortal's lot Hath been vouchsafed through offspring god-begot. God-begotten adj. ΚΠ 1600 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. (rev. ed.) f. 43 That horse of fame, that God-begotten steed. 1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer Odyssey (new ed.) i. 2 This wave-beset, wooded island is the domain of a God-begotten creature. 2000 D. A. Miller Epic Hero ii. 100 A complete difference between hero and birth mate appears when the god-begotten child is born with a human-begotten ‘twin’. God-beloved adj. ΚΠ 1610 R. Davies Chesters Triumph sig. B3 I am ariu'd (in happy time I hope) To finde this happy God-beloued Man. 1853 J. Stevenson tr. Bede Life St. Cuthbert in tr. Bede Hist. Wks 577 That..the sanctity of the God-beloved father [L. Deo dilecti patris] might be manifested to the faithful. 2012 Canwest News Service (Nexis) 7 June Your thriving garden of God-beloved dandelion flowers. God-built adj. ΚΠ ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads viii. 114 Our god-built towres they see [Gk. θεοδμήτων ἐπὶ πύργων]. 1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xiii. 1029 Your boasted City and your god-built Wall. 1736 J. Thomson Britain: 4th Pt. Liberty 297 The seeming God-built City. 2005 B. Kay in J. Ashley et al. Relevant Church i. 3 A God-built structure made up of other believers. God-centred adj. ΚΠ 1831 Fraser's Mag. Oct. 379 It led the year of the self-balanced mass, God-centred in the abyss, and girt with heaven. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 10 Dec. 2/3 Flowers of heaven!..wreathing The God-centred vision of all coming years! 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? 2007 New Yorker 3 Dec. 55/3 Their teaching, these critics say, is ‘me-centered’, rather than God-centered. God-created adj. ΚΠ 1832 T. Carlyle in Edinb. Rev. July 339 The man is provided..with a rational god-created soul. 1841 E. Miall in Nonconf. 1 97 An image..not God-created, but made by the hands of man. 1947 Life 14 July 13/2 The search into the God-created laws of nature and into the revealed truths of human character. 2009 Cambr. Evening News (Nexis) 25 Dec. Fear imprisons and distorts the God-created image in men and women. God-descended adj. ΚΠ 1656 A. Cowley Pindarique Odes 18 in Poems The great Acts of God-descended Kings. 1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. vi. 236 The..God-descended Chief. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. ii. §48. 159 Presently others of the god-descended race were similarly saluted. 1934 G. W. Russell House of Titans 4 Tell me our story, god-descended king, For we have dwindled down, and from ourselves Have passed away, and have forgotten all. 2004 T. Hartmann Last Hours of Anc. Sunlight (rev. ed.) 173 Kamikaze pilots enthusiastically gave their lives for the god-descended emperor. God-deserted adj. ΚΠ 1820 London Mag. Apr. 408/2 That dreaded recess, containing the Hebrew mysteries..is disclosed..to the God-deserted multitude! 1845 J. G. Whittier in Amer. Liberty Almanac 1846 26 And the solemn priest to Moloch, on each God-deserted shrine. 1900 Baptist Missionary Mag. July 307 These two villages amply repay all the money that has been spent in this apparently God-deserted country. 2007 Independent Extra (Nexis) 29 June Spanning New York and the Kremlin, Salt Lake City and a God-deserted heaven. God-driven adj. ΚΠ 1832 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 150/1 His god-driven flight thrice round the towers of the city. 1895 W. M. Ramsay St. Paul x. ii. 216 The usual type of God-driven devotees. 2012 Daily News (Bowling Green, Kentucky) (Nexis) 20 Sept. This is a God-driven program... It's bigger and more important than any one person. God-empowered adj. ΚΠ 1834 J. A. Stephenson Sword Unsheathed 25 The outward call alone, duly given, constitutes the man a God-empowered minister. 1906 N.Y. Observer 18 Oct. 507/2 A god-kindled and God-empowered soul can be trusted to take care of duty. 2012 Intelligencer Jrnl. (Lancaster, Pa.) (Nexis) 22 Sept. b5 The dynamic, transformational, God-empowered change the Bible describes should be happening in the church. God-enamoured adj. ΚΠ a1711 T. Ken Wks. (1721) I. 129 Food to ev'ry God-enamour'd Mind. 1895 Jewish Q. Rev. 7 766 They yearned not for mortal progeny, but for the immortal which the god-enamoured soul is alone able to bring forth of itself. 1993 K. E. Børreson Women's Stud. of Christian & Islamic Trad. i. 81 After this procession of God-enamoured women, it is stimulating to consider the happily married Christine de Pizan. God-enlightened adj. ΚΠ 1839 G. Field Outl. Analogical Philos. II. iv. 346 The purely rational, or God-enlightened and perfectly cultivated mind. 1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 562 Let the God-enlightened soul go on [etc.]. 1920 Homiletic Rev. 80 460 This much-talked-of infallible judgment of a God-enlightened, educated public. 1994 Buffalo (N.Y.) News (Nexis) 22 Nov. 2 Who knows what the presence of one God-enlightened person can produce? God-entrusted adj. ΚΠ 1852 T. Wilson in Tracts for Times No. 3. 16 The student who..sedulously napkins the God-entrusted talent by which he discerns between good and evil, light and darkness? 1864 E. B. Pusey Daniel ii. 61 Human power..has a majesty, lent it by God, even when it abuses the God-entrusted gift. 1904 Rec. Christian Work Sept. 739/1 One endowed with great faculties digs a hole in the earth, and buries the God-entrusted talent. 2010 L. Bevere Lioness Arising ix. 159 The God-entrusted message—God the Father is love, and his only begotten Son, Jesus, died to reconcile us. God-fed adj. [after ancient Greek διοτρεϕής (see Diotrephes n.)] ΚΠ 1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses iii. 34 Choisest meat, Which none but God-fed Kings [Gk. διοτρεϕέες βασιλῆες] eat. 1890 J. R. Lowell Writings 151 This have I mused on, since mine eye could first Among the stars distinguish and with joy Rest on that God-fed Pharos of the north. 2010 High Point Enterprise (N. Carolina) (Nexis) 23 May I know that BOTSO [= Brothers Organized to Save Others] is God-led and God-fed. God-forbidden adj. ΚΠ 1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 6 If the woman be naturally so of disposition, as will not help to remove..that same God-forbidd'n lonelines which [etc.]. 1867 R. Broughton Not wisely, but too Well II. viii. 140 The angel with the drawn sword impeding the progress of his God-forbidden journey. 2011 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 9 Aug. 10 Let's pull up our stakes and get the hell out of this God-forbidden land that time has forgotten. God-forgotten adj. [compare German gottvergessen (19th cent.; earlier in sense ‘having forgotten God’ (17th cent.)); compare earlier godforsaken adj.] ΚΠ 1845 P. Jones My Uncle Hobson & I xii. 123 ‘Woe, woe, woe!’ shouted he, ‘to the God-forgotten inhabitants of this God-forsaken earth!’ 1889 R. Buchanan Heir of Linne vi ‘A God-forgotten place’, he said at last, as the dog-cart stopped. 1999 Times 25 Jan. 20 (headline) ‘This is a God-forgotten place’, Russians are fond of saying. God-formed adj. ΚΠ 1854 J. A. Allen Day-dreams Butterfly iii. 73 In the God-formed plan Doth no rainbow span The broad ocean which separates time From eternity. 1888 A. J. Butler tr. Dante Paradiso ii. 17 The God-formed realm. 2006 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 24 Dec. a14 Bela his name was—four months old—this little God-formed shape. God-gifted adj. ΚΠ 1810 C. Lucas Joseph x. 252 Thee, whose firm look, God-gifted, closed the Lions' mouths. 1863 Ld. Tennyson Milton in Cornhill Mag. Dec. 707 God-gifted organ-voice of England. 1907 ‘D. Donovan’ Gold-spinner i. 1 ‘God-gifted and beautiful’ was Helga Arnold! 2003 Eastern Eye 14 Feb. 34/3 (advt.) I have a God-gifted ability to solve all your problems. God-governed adj. ΚΠ 1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Moralists ii. 150 In this case it is not a Self-govern'd, but a God-govern'd machine. 1896 A. Brown Mercy Warren vi. 138 This was the new scene, the God-given and God-governed theatre of action. 2003 C. Wilson in J. Miller & B. Inwood Hellenistic & Early Mod. Philos. 106 Moral abominations inappropriate to a God-governed universe. God-hated adj. ΚΠ 1643 J. Vicars Looking-glasse for Malignants 34 These notable Convictions and Confessions of the horrible and God-hated evill of your cause and cases. a1868 A. I. Menken Infelicia (1883) 95 Turn back, ye Assassins! or wear on your foreheads For ever the brand of a God-hated race! 1927 W. B. Yeats October Blast 22 These God-hated children. 1998 J. V. A. Fine in A. Dundes Vampire 61 The leaders of the God-hated affair..were to receive forty strokes. God-implanted adj. ΚΠ 1837 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. Oct. 9 The high destinies of which every human soul contains the God-implanted germ. 1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 287 The natural God-implanted feeling is the germ of the spiritual. 1923 Pop. Mech. Mar. 359 Thoughtless, though well-meaning parents stifled and killed the natural inclination and individuality of promising, budding ambition, God-implanted. 1989 Hist. Today Feb. 56/3 The God-implanted rights of both property and benevolence. God-inflicted adj. ΚΠ 1865 J. S. Mill Auguste 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? 2005 Toronto Star (Nexis) 20 Oct. A convicted murderer..says it's the church that should be forced to compensate him for the God-inflicted damage wrought by His alleged crimes. God-inspired adj. ΚΠ 1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxiv. 86 That God inspired man, with heauenly goodnesse fild. 1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 271 God-inspired To utter truth. 1991 H. Gold Best Nightmare on Earth iv. 58 These ritual vévés, god-inspired flour drawings in the temple. God-intoxicated adj. [after German gotttrunken (a1801 in the passage translated in quot. 1829)] ΚΠ 1829 T. Carlyle tr. ‘Novalis’ in Foreign Rev. 4 130 Spinoza is a God-intoxicated-man (Gott-trunkener Mensch). 1839 H. W. Longfellow Hyperion I. ii. vi. 61 He is what the Transcendentalists call a god-intoxicated man. 1955 Life 31 Jan. 96/2 The Hindus have been called a ‘God-intoxicated’ people who see God in man and beast, stick and stone, fire and water. 2003 Vanity Fair Aug. 76 The god-inflamed and god-intoxicated enemies of the Republic. God-loved adj. ΚΠ 1839 T. Wade Prothanasia 65 Her cheeks blush'd at the color that bedevill'd Their god-loved paleness. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 246 Grief must he hide..If he would be god-loved and conquering still. 1996 J. L. Nelson Frankish World p. xxi The place to celebrate the God-loved Franks. God-made adj. ΚΠ 1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 40^v Nor doe I boast my God-made Grandsires skarres. 1856 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters III. 147 Greatness in art..is..the expression of the mind of a God-made great man. 1994 C. McCarthy Crossing 426 After a while the right and godmade sun did rise, once again, for all and without distinction. God-opposed adj. [after ancient Greek ἀντίθεος (see etymology at anti- prefix)] ΚΠ ?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses xi. 169 Life yet made short their admirations; who God-opposed Otus [Gk. Ὠτόν τ' ἀντίθεον] had to name. 1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 336 The God-opposed world. 2010 T. W. Balderston Proven God 40 God-opposed groups are fighting..to keep God and the Bible..out of any public place. God-ordained adj. ΚΠ 1823 Bristol Mercury 29 Dec. A power de facto is a power God-ordained. 1897 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 31 Aug. 3/6 Women are the God-ordained instructors of youth. 2006 Christianity Today Sept. 106/1 The..Protestant Three Self Movement sent out pastors..to preach that unquestioning loyalty to the government..was God-ordained. God-sent adj. ΚΠ 1585 Parish Reg. St. Nicolas, Durham Margaret god sent daughter of Margaret Tayler [christened] Jun: 27. 1655 E. Gayton Upon Meeting of Sons of Clergy 4 Are God-sent Prophets Triumphs or Reproaches. 1884 ‘Rita’ Vivienne vi. i One of those God-sent chances which sometimes befriend us in our hours of peril. 1972 Recusant Hist. Jan. 187 Converts remained godsent in more senses than one. 2000 A. Rashid Taliban (2001) 58 For the Taliban it was a God-sent opportunity. God-sped adj. ΚΠ 1838 S. Bellamy Betrayal 61 Nor longer tarrieth, God-sped, and fain His course to finish. 1886 J. Ruskin Time & Tide 20 The wisely sharp methods of Godsped courage. 2011 Washington Post (Nexis) 17 Nov. d1 His supporters say he is streaking toward a God-sped destiny. God-speeded adj. ΚΠ 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxii. 30 When shone an happier hour than thy god-speeded arriving [L. quid datur a diuis felici optatius hora?]? 1911 W. L. Reed Jumbles (Re-jumbled) 62 The gleam of a God-speeded sunbeam Shining out 'neath a brow worldly-wise. 2007 I. McDonald Brasyl 270 Godspeeded, I traversed a million worlds until an echo brought me up. God-taught adj. ΚΠ 1670 R. Cudworth Serm. 1 John ii. 3–4 in Disc. concerning Lord's Supper (ed. 2) 108 He is a true Christian indeed..that is God-taught. 1891 F. Hartmann (title) The life and doctrines of Jacob Boehme: the God-taught philosopher. 2006 J. J. Packer & C. Nystrom Praying 38 The authentic path of prayer expresses a God-taught commitment to a way of life. † God-vouched adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 123 His God-vouched inheritance of Heaven. a1904 W. P. Yeaman in J. C. Maple Life & Writings W. P. Yeaman (1906) IV. iii. 384 The civilized world is indebted to Baptists for the revolution that has been wrought in the interests of the natural and God-vouched rights of conscience. God-wrought adj. ΚΠ 1817 R. C. Sands Bridal of Vaumond viii. 97 While God-wrought chains his soul corrode. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 24 Some god-wrought eagle-wings. 1998 L. Ryken et al. Dict. Biblical Imagery 756/1 Salvation refers to the God-wrought reversal of the sinner's denial of the Creator and the created order. d. Limitative. † God-unlike adj. [after godlike adj.] Obsolete ΚΠ 1609 J. Davies Holy Roode sig. F3^v Wilt be so God vnlike, to see thy God Embrace the Whip, and thou abhorre the Rod? e. God-bless v. [ < God bless (in God bless you! at bless v.¹ 9b)] rare transitive to say ‘God bless (you)’ to; also intransitive. ΚΠ 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xl. 165 To be..God-blessed..by one who carried ‘Sir’ before his name..was something for a porter. 1870 M. Arnold in Pall Mall Gaz. 29 Nov. 3/2 We heard the honest German soldiers Hoch-ing, hurrahing, and God-blessing in their true-hearted but somewhat rococo manner. 2003 Z. Packer Drinking Coffee Elsewhere 225 Hugging and God-blessing everyone in sight. God bless int. [shortened < God bless you! at bless v.¹ 9b] used as a wish for God's blessing on a person or as an expression of goodwill, esp. at parting. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > [phrase] > for the sake of > wish for the benefit of (someone) > wish for someone's benefit God bless1945 1945 M. Lowry Let. Dec. in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 496 Give Mother our best love & tell her we are writing her together today. Adios, God bless, Your brother, Malcolm. 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. 1999 G. Kissick Winter in Volcano (2000) i. 4 ‘Yes. I understand. Thank you, Sister. Goodbye.’ ‘Thank you, sir. Goodbye and God Bless.’ God-born adj. (also with lower-case initial) chiefly poetic and literary (a) (with reference to Greek or Roman mythology) born of a god or gods; of divine parentage or ancestry; (also with reference to Christ) born of God; (b) (of a thought, feeling, etc.) given by or proceeding from God (cf. God-given adj., God-sent adj. at Compounds 1c). ΚΠ 1640 J. Gower tr. Ovid Festivalls i. 16 That god-born prince [L. nepos natusque dei] (although himself denie) His fathers weight shall manage piously. 1755 W. Dodd tr. Theocritus Encomium of Ptolemy in tr. Callimachus Hymns 198 Hail royal Ptolemy! equal to the race Of god-born heroes [Gk. ἡμιθέων], thee the Muse extols. 1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII lxi. 85 The Virgin Mother of the God-born child, With her son in her blessed arms, look'd round. 1843 Dial Apr. 422 The God-born idea is not an impulsion, but an inspiration. 1910 Outlook 24 Dec. 950 His baby hand shall give to earth All of a God-born Saviour's care. 1988 W. M. Wright & J. F. Power in P. M. Thibert tr. F. de Sales & J. de Chantal Lett. Spiritual Direction 14 The director then helped that person to learn to identify those promptings, to..propose possible practices that might encourage the free expression of those God-born impulses. 2000 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Nov. 22/3 In Greek theatre, Heracles was a..Geryon-bodied figure, with distinct genre characterizations for his appearances in tragedy (god-born culture-hero grappling with the limits of mortality) [etc.]. † god-bote n. Anglo-Saxon Law Obsolete (historical in later use) a fine payable to the Church in reparation for an injury or offence; cf. boot n.¹ 9. ΚΠ OE Laws of Æðelred II (Claud.) vi. li. 258 Gif for godbotan feohbot ariseð.., þæt gebyreð rihtlice, be biscpa dihte, to gebedbigene & to þearfena hyþþe. 1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) God-bote (Sax.), a Fine or amerciament for crimes and offences against God; also an Ecclesiastical or Church fine. [Also in later dictionaries.] God-botherer n. depreciative (chiefly British, originally Military slang) a member of the clergy; any religious-minded person, esp. a proselytizing Christian. ΚΠ 1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 338/2 God-botherer, a parson: Royal Air Force's: from ca. 1920. 1939 R. D. Q. Henriques No Arms, No Armour xiv. 395 He had been pretty close to becoming a God-botherer, a religious sort of bloke who made hell for everyone by insisting on a full attendance at Church parade. 1966 Times 22 Jan. 9/6 Missionaries, known locally to the unconverted as ‘devil-dodgers’ and ‘God-botherers’. 1966 K. Amis Anti-Death League (1967) ii. 147 ‘What do you think of the padre, Max?’..‘Not a bad chap for a God-botherer.’ 2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 201 He wasn't..the first bluesman, pot-head, speed-freak or born-again God-botherer. God-bothering n. and adj. depreciative (chiefly British, originally Military slang) (a) n. religious activity; the actions or behaviour of a God-botherer; (b) adj. religious; proselytizing; designating or characteristic of a God-botherer. ΚΠ 1943 Gen. 30 Jan. 47/1 A church service held on board one of His Majesty's Ships is usually known as godbothering. 1968 Guardian 30 Apr. 6/1 Yes, the femme fatale, already saddled with lover and husband, fatally attracts the God-bothering young excise man. 1988 Observer 1 May 11/7 That fiendish old God-bothering father of hers, Alderman Whatsisname. 2009 R. C. Wood Preaching & Professing 125 To such humanists, all of our God-bothering is a foolish extravagance. 2010 Canberra Times (Nexis) 24 Oct. The blokes, down on their luck, were sometimes mildly disparaging of the Salvos [i.e. the Salvation Army], with their odd military-style hierarchy and ‘God-bothering’ ways. God-box n. a thing or person imagined as containing God or a god; (formerly also depreciative) (probably) †a pyx; (slang) a church or other place of worship; (also) a church organ. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > sanctuary or holy place > [noun] holinessc897 houseeOE halidomc1000 ZionOE God's houseOE wike-tuna1250 saintuairea1300 sanctuarya1340 holy1382 entry?c1400 the Holy (Saint) Sepulchre (occasionally the Sepulchre)c1400 high placea1425 place of worship?1459 synagogue1490 God-box?1548 shrinea1577 bethela1617 prayer house1657 barn1689 bidental1692 altar1772 praying housea1843 ?1548 J. Bale Image Bothe Churches (new ed.) iii. sig. Bb.viii The vessels of yuory comprehendeth al theyr maundy dishes, their offering platters their relique chystes, their god boxes, their drinking horns. 1874 S. J. MacKenna At School with Old Dragoon 235 He..bids the men squat down, and opens his god-box as the former shudderingly regard it. 1890 Freethinker 14 Sept. 440/1 R. B. Cunningham Grahame, M.P...speaks of chapel as ‘some dissenting god-box’. 1892 W. W. Gill S. Pacific & New Guinea 20 The priest, or ‘god-box’,..went through the needful prayers. 1923 C. K. Ogden & I. A. 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 J. 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. 1937 Amer. Speech 12 181/12 Godbox, organ. 1962 New Statesman 25 May 768/2 A ring-a-ding God-box that will go over big with the flat-bottomed latitudinarians. 1995 Faith Today Mar. 28/2 Through the Toronto Blessing our ‘God boxes’ have been stretched—smashed, if the truth be told. 1998 R. Stone Damascus Gate ii. xxix. 227 ‘So the tourist goes up into the choir loft to see who's at the keyboard, and who do you think he sees?’ ‘Fats Waller?’ ‘Hell,’ Lucas said. ‘You knew... So Fats says, “Just trying their God box, man”.’ God forbid n. [rhyming slang < God forbid : see forbid v. 2b] slang a kid, a child; see also quot. 1960; cf. Gawd-forbid n. at Gawd n. Derivatives. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > child > [noun] wenchelc890 childeOE littleOE littlingOE hired-childc1275 smalla1300 brolla1325 innocentc1325 chickc1330 congeonc1330 impc1380 faunt1382 young onec1384 scionc1390 weea1400 birdc1405 chickenc1440 enfaunta1475 small boyc1475 whelp1483 burden1490 little one1509 brat?a1513 younkerkin1528 kitling1541 urchin1556 loneling1579 breed1586 budling1587 pledge?1587 ragazzo1591 simplicity1592 bantling1593 tadpole1594 two-year-old1594 bratcheta1600 lambkin1600 younker1601 dandling1611 buda1616 eyas-musketa1616 dovelinga1618 whelplinga1618 puppet1623 butter printa1625 chit1625 piggy1625 ninnyc1626 youngster1633 fairya1635 lap-child1655 chitterling1675 squeaker1676 cherub1680 kid1690 wean1692 kinchin1699 getlingc1700 totum17.. charity-child1723 small girl1734 poult1739 elfin1748 piggy-wiggy1766 piccaninny1774 suck-thumb18.. teeny1802 olive1803 sprout1813 stumpie1820 sexennarian1821 totty1822 toddle1825 toddles1828 poppet1830 brancher1833 toad1836 toddler1837 ankle-biter1840 yarkera1842 twopenny1844 weeny1844 tottykins1849 toddlekins1852 brattock1858 nipper1859 sprat1860 ninepins1862 angelet1868 tenas man1870 tad1877 tacker1885 chavvy1886 joey1887 toddleskin1890 thumb-sucker1891 littlie1893 peewee1894 tyke1894 che-ild1896 kiddo1896 mother's bairn1896 childling1903 kipper1905 pick1905 small1907 God forbid1909 preadolescent1909 subadolescent1914 toto1914 snookums1919 tweenie1919 problem child1920 squirt1924 trottie1924 tiddler1927 subteen1929 perisher1935 poopsie1937 pre-schooler1937 pre-teen1938 pre-teener1940 juvie1941 sprog1944 pikkie1945 subteenager1947 pre-teenager1948 pint-size1954 saucepan lid1960 rug rat1964 smallie1984 bosom-child- 1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. Victorian Era 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). 1974 P. Wright Lang. Brit. Industry x. 89 You'll draw plenty of bees an' honey (money) if you have, say, five God forbids (kids). 1999 C. Breese Hutch (2001) xiv. 288 Hutch's old friends Harold and Leslie Berens agreed that he had been ‘into the god-forbids’, apt cockney rhyming slang for ‘kids’. † god-home n. Obsolete the home of God or the gods; heaven, Asgard. [With reference to Scandinavian mythology (compare quot. 1876) after Old Icelandic goðheimr.] ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [noun] bliss971 heavenOE paradiseOE towera1240 seatc1275 heavenwarda1300 Abraham's bosomc1300 tabernaclea1340 wonea1350 sanctuary1382 pasturec1384 firmament1388 sky?1518 Canaan1548 welkin1559 happy land1562 sphere?1592 heavenwards1614 afterworld1615 patria1707 god-home1848 overworld1858 the invisible1868 the world > the supernatural > deity > other deities > [noun] > northern > abode of god-home1848 1848 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 3) 120 God-home and glory-land. 1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd iii. 216 A burg of people builded for the lords of God-home [Old Icelandic Goðheimr] meet. 1919 W. N. Guthrie Relig. Old Glory ii. iv. 129 The hosts of angels pursuing the demon of the storms do pass in triumph by the bridge from manhome to Godhome. god-one n. rare a person who is God or a god. ΚΠ 1843 E. B. Barrett Seraph & Poet in Graham's Mag. July 72/1 The seraph sings before the manifest God-one. 1918 E. Pound Poetry Feb. 270 His series of ‘prayers’—to the God-one, the god-couple, the god-house, the god-street, and so on—is extremely interesting. 1962 A. Norton Lord of Thunder i. 15 The reputed home of these God Ones was the high mountains of the northeast. † God-saving adj. Obsolete rare of or relating to the greeting ‘God save you’; salutatory. ΚΠ 1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H4^v This bumbast foile-button..after the God-sauing ceremonie, For want of talke-stuffe, falls to foinerie. God-shaped adj. †(a) shaped or formed by God (obsolete rare); (b) designating a void in a non-believer's heart that is likened to the shape of God; (hence) designating a feeling of emptiness said to be experienced by a person who does not believe in God, (now) esp. in god-shaped hole. ΚΠ 1840 P. J. Bailey in Monthly Mag. Apr. 397 Dreams are mind-clouds, high and unshapen beauties, Or but God-shaped, like mountains, which contain Much and rich matter. 1897 Rep. Board Agric. 1894–6 (State of New Hampsh.) 396 All have known..trees greatly damaged by a pruning which reminds one of butchery, and which in a lover of the beautiful God-shaped trees required a large amount of Christianity to prevent expressions unbecoming a gentleman. 1917 H. G. Wells God Invisible King iv. 84 The religion of the atheist with a God-shaped blank at its heart and the persuasion of the unconverted theologian, are both like lamps unlit. 1930 J. F. Newton Things I know in Relig. 22 Not only is God implied in our very thought, He is affirmed in our denials, and without Him we are left with a God-shaped void in our hearts. 1954 R. Macaulay Let. 31 Jan. in Last Lett. to Friend (1962) 143 Always one felt in one's soul what someone has called ‘the God-shaped hole’, where God has once been, or will be, or (anyhow) ought to be. 2010 Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. 21 Mar. c3/5 Some people say there is a God-shaped hole in us that only God can fill. god shelf n. [after Japanese kamidana (see kamidana n.)] in a traditional Japanese household, a high wooden shelf serving as an altar for the worship of kami (Shinto gods), on which are typically placed a miniature Shinto shrine, paper amulets or charms, and offerings of food and drink; this shelf and its contents considered together. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > vessel (general) > shrine > [noun] > Shinto miya1727 kamidana1873 god shelf1876 1874 E. Satow in Trans. Asiatic Soc. Japan 2 114 In every Japanese house there is kept what is called a kami-dana, or ‘shelf for gods’.] 1876 F. V. Dickins in tr. Chiushingura 171 (note) 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. 1880 I. L. Bird Unbeaten Tracks Japan II. 359 In nearly all Japanese houses there is a kami-dana or god-shelf, on which is a miniature temple in wood. 1905 D. B. W. Sladen Playing the Game xii They are never too poor to have a little light burning on the god-shelf. 1997 J. Bowker World Relig. 105/3 (caption) They are usually placed on a Buddhist altar, or butsudan, or on the ‘god shelf’, or kamidana, at home, to protect and bring good fortune to the family. God slot n. [compare slot n.² 6] a period in a broadcasting schedule regularly reserved for religious programmes. ΘΚΠ society > communication > broadcasting > a broadcast programme or item > [noun] > types of news bulletin1857 news summary1875 police message1886 newsflash1904 headline1908 play-by-play1909 feature1913 spot ad1916 magazine1921 news1923 time signal1923 outside broadcast1924 radiocast1924 amateur hour1925 bulletin1925 serial1926 commentary1927 rebroadcast1927 school broadcast1927 feature programme1928 trailer1928 hour1930 schools broadcast1930 show1930 spot advertisement1930 spot announcement1930 sustaining1931 flash1934 newscast1934 commercial1935 clambake1937 remote1937 repeat1937 snap1937 soap opera1939 sportcast1939 spot commercial1939 daytimer1940 magazine programme1941 season1942 soap1943 soaper1946 parade1947 public service announcement1948 simulcasting1949 breakfast-time television1952 call-in1952 talkathon1952 game show1953 kidvid1955 roundup1958 telenovela1961 opt-out1962 miniseries1963 simulcast1964 soapie1964 party political1966 novela1968 phone-in1968 sudser1968 schools programme1971 talk-in1971 God slot1972 roadshow1973 trail1973 drama-doc1977 informercial1980 infotainment1980 infomercial1981 kideo1983 talk-back1984 indie1988 omnibus1988 teleserye2000 kidult- 1972 Fortnight 13 Apr. 23/3 Vastly more enjoyable, though no God-slot for Easter Sunday, was to see tiddly-winks champion Nimmo in Las Vegas. 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..could lead to the disappearance of the ‘God slot’, the so-called ‘closed period’ for religious programmes on television. 2010 Church Times 10 Sept. 28/2 The psychologist Nicholas Humphrey had an angry response published to Mary Medgley's ‘Faith and Reason’ godslot. God squad n. slang (originally U.S. University slang) (the members of) a religious organization, esp. an evangelical Christian group; those representing religious interests. ΘΚΠ society > faith > sect > Christianity > person > [noun] > fervent God squad1962 society > faith > worship > preaching > evangelization > [noun] > one who evangelizes > collectively God squad1962 1962 Jrnl. Educ. Sociol. 35 206 The Christian Student Movement..had been..an esoteric little group, meeting in piety, and contemplating the navel. They were referred to as the ‘God Squad’ on the campus. 1969 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 3 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.’ 2002 Independent on Sunday 20 Oct. (Review Suppl.) 31/2 (heading) The other week this God squad woman asked me about morals. god-stick n. (a) = joss-stick n. at joss n.¹ Compounds 2 (now rare); (b) (with reference to certain traditional cultures of Polynesia and East Asia, now esp. the Maori people of New Zealand) any of various types of carved wooden stick or peg used in religious rituals to represent a god, or in which a god is believed to dwell.Maori god-sticks are typically carved with a stylized representation of a face or head. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fragrance > [noun] > fragrant substance or perfume > incense rechelseOE storc1000 incensec1290 censea1382 guma1382 olibanuma1398 thus1398 frankincensea1400 frank14.. thurec1425 mascle thure?1440 olibanc1440 smoke1530 perfume1542 masculine frankincense1555 tacamahac1577 cayolac1588 masculine gum1604 candle1628 pastille1630 Spanish coal1631 incense-frank1633 thymiama1697 censery1823 punk1844 joss-stick1845 god-stick1874 society > faith > artefacts > consumables > incense > [noun] > cylinder of joss-stick1845 god-stick1874 agarbatti1884 1874 Year-bk. Pharmacy 609 Perhaps it would be interesting to mention how the little joss or god sticks are manufactured. 1884 E. Greey Bear-worshippers of Yezo p. vii The bearded savage in the lower corner is an Aino whittling inaho (god-sticks). 1889 Woman's Work for Woman July 178/1 They are called joss-sticks, a name given by the Portuguese, doubtless meaning ‘dios’ or god-sticks. 1897 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 Sept. 2/1 Whenever a Siyot acted as mountain guide, or forded a river, he expressed his gratitude for safety by adding a quota [of little rags] to the ‘god-stick’. 1900 A. Hamilton Art Workmanship of Maori Race in N.Z. v. 416 These three wooden pegs show the form of the god-sticks without the sinnet wrappings. 1902 E. A. Gordon Temples of Orient i. 6 The use of Joss-sticks (i.e. god-sticks) in China; ‘Joss’ being the Chinese pronunciation of the Portuguese Deus. 1967 Cal. Art Inst. Chicago No. 4. 8/1 Although it was not easy to borrow carvings from Hawaii, some exceptional godsticks and figures have been gathered from various collections. 2002 D. Oliver Polynesia in Early Hist. Times iii. xxiv. 228/1 Some gods were capable of resting temporarily in certain natural objects.., or more commonly in carved stone figures and man-made ‘god-sticks’. God-talk n. theological discourse; (also) conversation or discourse about one's faith or God in general.In later use often with negative connotations. ΚΠ 1962 Jrnl. Relig. 42 260/2 In trying valiantly but vainly to make God-talk intelligible to people of an empirical temperament, Wilson has altered in a very radical way the very language game in which God-talk is at home. 1973 Times 21 July 14/4 No religion, Christian or other, can ever be fully understood from outside, and this must apply also to its God-talk. 1986 Toronto Star (Nexis) 5 Dec. (Sports section) b2 I had an irate call from a Star subscriber, protesting that this God talk has no place on the sports pages. 2010 C. E. Smidt et al. Disappearing God Gap? viii. 228 Did religious voters respond to the ‘God-talk’ and the religious outreach of the Democratic Party? god tree n. any of several trees that are regarded as sacred or as a gift of a god, esp. the bo tree, Ficus religiosa, of South and South East Asia, and the deodar cedar; (also) a mythical tree regarded as a god. [Originally (with reference to the bo tree; compare quots. 1681 and 1778) after Sinhala bogaha tree of (the Buddha's) enlightenment (see bo tree n.), with a European misinterpretation of the Buddha as a god (perhaps reinforced by the use of Pali deva- ‘god-, divine’ as an honorific, e.g. for Buddhas ( < Sanskrit deva god: see deva n.)). In quot. 1833 after Sanskrit devadāru, lit. ‘timber of the gods’ (see deodar n.).] ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > specific thing as > tree as god tree1681 tree-goddess1895 tree-god1905 tree-deity1911 the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > trees or shrubs yielding fibre, etc. > silk-cotton trees gossipine1589 gossampine1601 cotton tree1670 god tree1681 silk-cotton tree1712 kapok1735 semul1809 ceiba1810 wool-tree1831 bombax1834 munguba1863 cabbage wood1885 1681 R. Knox Hist. Relation Ceylon 18 This tree they call Bogahah; we the God-Tree. 1778 J. Abercrombie Universal Gardener & Botanist at Ficus Sacred Fig, or Indian God-tree..is held in great veneration in India. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 34/1 Abies Deodara, the Sacred Indian Fir. The Hindoos call it the Devadara or God-tree. 1837 J. C. Loudon Gardener's Mag. Dec. 592 Even the untutored children of Africa are so struck with the majesty of its appearance, that they designate it [sc. Eriodendron anfractuosum] the God tree. 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. 1990 D. Carrasco Relig. Mesoamer. iv. 100 According to Tzutujil mythology there existed a god in the form of a tree... This god-tree became pregnant with potential life as the creation of the universe approached. 2008 R. C. Bisht Internat. Encycl. Himalayas v. 144 There are historical records that describe a God Tree in western Ngari, Tibet. C2. Compounds with God's.The postmodifier of God has replaced, or is more commonly used than, the genitive in a number of expressions in which it was formerly usual, such as God's friend, God's lamb, God's mother, God's son, God's word, etc.: see the nouns.Also God's acre n., God's good n., God's house n., God's penny n. a. Rhetorically placed before a noun, either to stress the special connection between God and the item denoted, or simply for emphasis. God's Anointed n. see anointed n. God's church n. [probably after post-classical Latin ecclesia Domini (3rd cent.)] the (Christian) Church, or a particular denomination of it; (also) the community of God's people. ΚΠ OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Corpus Oxf.) v. xvii. 456 Se cyning geleornade þæt he symble rihte regolas Godes cyricean [L. catholicas ecclesiae regulas] fyligde & lufade. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1093 On his broke he Gode fela behæsa behet: his agen lif on riht to lædene & Godes cyrcean griðian & friðian. c1400 Last Age of Church (1840) 31 Þe synnes bi cause of whiche suche persecucioun schal be in Goddis Chirche. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 436 In the Oold Testament God ordeyned oon bischop to be aboue in reule..and so to alle the clergie in Goddis chirche being thanne. 1596 T. Bell Suruey Popery (title page) A succinct and profitable enarration of the state of Gods Church. 1623 G. Fletcher Reward of Faithfull ii. iv. 194 All which rocks of danger & ill husbandry religion..neuer suffers any that saile in Noahs Arke, I meane in Gods church for want of a right steering their vessels to run foule vpon. 1797 in A. Kilham Methodist Monitor I. 272 But as there are rulers, so there are rules for God's church. 1863 J. M. Cox Church on Rock vi. 127 From the first beginning of her history, the state of God's Church on earth has been ever one of conflict. 1937 Crisis Oct. 317/2 Segregation in God's church will continue in America and in South Africa. 2008 Third Way Oct. 23/1 My prayer, my hope for God's church is to be God's church, to be true to itself. God's creatures n. animals, or humans and animals, considered collectively. ΚΠ 1786 ‘A. Pasquin’ Royal Academicians 43 If they were not the most stupid assemblage of all God's creatures, they would instantly expel him. 1822 J. Hogg Three Perils of Man III. i. 36 I see nae right ony o' God's creatures hae to be hurlbarrowed out o' their standing. 1921 J. M. Whitham Heretic vi. 47 'Tidn't Christian to boil God's creatures if 'ee bain't a-going to eat en... Such ropery! 2003 X-Ray May 17/2 The utilisation of God's creatures to further the careers of fraudulent software package-sponsored, so-called electronic musicians must stop. God's earth n. the earth; frequently in on God's (dear or green) earth. ΚΠ 1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries i. 138 b There were but 200 Spaniardes laid on Gods deare earth. 1595 G. Peele Old Wiues Tale sig. D4^v The veriest vixen that liues vpon Gods earth. 1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 74 Till..he be layd flat on Gods deare earth. 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xxx. 108 There was not a viler fellow upon God's earth, than me. 1844 Waukesha (Wisconsin Territory) Chronotype 15 June 1/4 Crucifixion..not for a big name on the lips of all ages—but for foot-hold upon God's Earth? 1898 Argosy Aug. 166 A more villainous collection of desperadoes never blighted God's earth. 1905 L. Woolf Let. 16 July (1990) 96 He..spent the whole morning in trying vainly to make his room not the foulest & hugest filthpacket on God's earth. 1922 S. Lewis Babbitt xx. 255 Now, here's Paul, the nicest, most sensitive critter on God's green earth. 1982 N. Boyd Three Victorian Women 90 One last gigantic effort to turn God's dear earth into hell. 2006 M. O'Farrell Vanishing Act Esme Lennox 188 There is no way on God's earth I would consider him any relation to me. God's people n. (a) a people or nation regarded as especially favoured by God; spec. the Israelites, Jewish people; (b) (esp. in a Christian context) people belonging to, or under the care of, God; people who worship or believe in God. ΚΠ a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xiii. xi. 659 Goddis peple made no ioye, but [satte and] wepte and made mone. c1405 (c1375) G. Chaucer Monk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 502 Goddes peple hadde he [sc. Anthiochus] moost in hate. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Ellesmere) (1877) §760 Thilke þat thou clepest thy thralles been goddes peple. for humble folk been cristes freendes. c1455 Speculum Misericordie in PMLA (1939) 54 952 (MED) Hee dede goddys peple pursewe To harme. 1551 T. Lever Serm. xiiii. December (new ed.) sig. D.iii^v Theyre preachyng can neuer diswade, to set and ordeyne ryche robbers and ignoraunt teachers ouer the Chrysten congregacion, goddes people, the kynges subiectes. 1606 W. Birnie Blame of Kirk-buriall ix. sig. C3 Pharao Cenchres (that drowned King of Egypt) who hauing a sepulchrall Pyramide elabored by the panefull taske of Gods people. a1771 J. Gill Compl. Body Doctrinal & Pract. Divinity (1796) I. 495 All the sins of God's people are remissible, and are actually remitted. 1845 J. M. Neale in Mirror of Faith xix. 68 And others told of the river old, that let God's people pass. 1903 Med. Missionary Sept. 215/1 Every son of humanity is a child of God, hence we are all God's people, and God cares for us and will not cast us off. 1979 Newsweek (Nexis) 12 Mar. 91 He takes care of those who need him, God's people all: the pornographer, the drunken cripple, the blind waiter. 1997 R. M. Brown Speaking of Christianity iv. xviii. 121 Where was the God of Sinai, of Abraham and Sarah.., when six million of God's people, including over a million children, were being exterminated? 2012 Times (Nexis) 7 Apr. 99 We have begun to dream about how it [sc. a new cathedral] will give glory to God and inspire God's people. God's plenty n. plenty, great abundance.In recent use, probably originally with allusion to quot. 1700. ΚΠ 1550 T. Becon Fortresse of Faythfull sig. Ji^v When other perished for lacke of dryncke, he hadde Gods plentye & inoughe, as they vse to saye. 1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. B3 There were sweet Lillies Gods plentie, which shewed faire Virgins need not weepe for wooers. 1670 F. Boothby Marcelia iv. vii. sig. I.3^v I'le neither fight nor be beaten for any woman, as long as there's God's plenty of them in the world. 1700 J. Dryden Fables Pref. sig. C^v 'Tis sufficient to say according to the Proverb, that here is God's Plenty. 1722 O. Dykes Royal Marriage* 230 But she seems to be a more real Cornucopia in Deed, abounding also with God's Plenty. 1856 C. L. Hentz Ernest Linwood xviii. 127 Oh, starver in the midst of God's plenty! 1907 Classical Philol. 2 201 Not that there is any lack of numeration in those copies—there is God's plenty of it. 1991 R. Rogers Self & Other i. 3 When it comes to selecting explanatory frameworks in the field of object relations theory, there is God's plenty to choose from. God's poor n. now rare the poor regarded as entrusted by God to the care of the devout. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > poor people or the poor waedlec888 needfula1200 needya1225 poorc1225 God's poorc1230 porailc1325 porailsa1425 povertya1450 poorality1536 God's poverty1563 miserable1582 necessitous1622 necessitated1638 ptochocracy1831 fallen1878 worse off1890 po'1945 c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 134 Þus bid ure riwle þet we schawin to gode freond as oþre godes poure doð hare meoseise wið milde eadmodnesse. a1325 St. Sebastian (Corpus Cambr.) l. 68 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 18 (MED) Aliue ich am ȝute her Hol and sond wiþoute wonde to ssewe Godes poer. c1535 Ploughman's Tale ii. sig. B.ii^v Of goddes poore they haten gestes. 1673 T. Gouge Surest & Safest Way of Thriving 41 Till thou comest in good earnest to be of this mind, God's poor are like to be but little the better for thee. 1700 W. Sherlock Serm. upon Several Occasions ix. 246 Preference..to God's Poor, whom the Divine Providence has made Poor, to the Poor of their own Making. 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’. 1936 E. Goudge City of Bells ix. 234 Here lived those people referred to by the Dean as the Lower Orders and by Grandfather as God's Poor. † God's poverty n. Obsolete rare = God's poor n. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > poor people or the poor waedlec888 needfula1200 needya1225 poorc1225 God's poorc1230 porailc1325 porailsa1425 povertya1450 poorality1536 God's poverty1563 miserable1582 necessitous1622 necessitated1638 ptochocracy1831 fallen1878 worse off1890 po'1945 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Keeping Clean Church 86 Not forgettyng to bestowe our almes vppon Goddes pouertie [1623 poore]. God's quantity n. colloquial a large amount; an abundance. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount felec825 muchc1230 good wone1297 plentyc1300 bushelc1374 sight1390 mickle-whata1393 forcea1400 manynessa1400 multitudea1400 packc1400 a good dealc1430 greata1450 sackful1484 power1489 horseloadc1500 mile1508 lump1523 a deal?1532 peckc1535 heapa1547 mass1566 mass1569 gallon1575 armful1579 cart-load1587 mickle1599 bushelful1600–12 a load1609 wreck1612 parisha1616 herd1618 fair share1650 heapa1661 muchness1674 reams1681 hantle1693 mort1694 doll?1719 lift1755 acre1759 beaucoup1760 ton1770 boxload1795 boatload1807 lot1811 dollop1819 swag1819 faggald1824 screed1826 Niagara1828 wad1828 lashings1829 butt1831 slew1839 ocean1840 any amount (of)1848 rake1851 slather1857 horde1860 torrent1864 sheaf1865 oodlesa1867 dead load1869 scad1869 stack1870 jorum1872 a heap sight1874 firlot1883 oodlings1886 chunka1889 whips1888 God's quantity1895 streetful1901 bag1917 fid1920 fleetful1923 mob1927 bucketload1930 pisspot1944 shitload1954 megaton1957 mob-o-ton1975 gazillion1978 buttload1988 shit ton1991 1895 B. Perry Plated City xix. 354 We've got a stock company, and the rights, and the irrigating canal, and any God's quantity of land. 1911 C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling xxviii. 242 There was God's quantity of fish. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 280 Big foxy thief..lifted any God's quantity of tea and sugar. 1946 D. Du Maurier King's Gen. xxii. 213 Had I command of unlimited forces and possessed God's quantity of ammunition, a bombardment of three days would reduce Plymouth to ashes. God's truth n. and int. colloquial (a) n. the absolute truth (also with the and as a count noun); also God's honest truth; (b) int. used as an oath.This compound use is distinguished from the simple, literal use ‘true doctrine revealed by or attributed to God’; see, for example, quot. 1737 at sense A. 5a. ΚΠ 1734 Proc. Old Bailey 10 July 151/1 What I swear, is upon the Truth, and God's Truth. 1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. ii. xiv. 192 Now, Sir master of mine, is not this God's truth. 1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 162/1 Na, for that matter, it's a God's truth, that at the dead hour of midnight..I heard her speaking to herself. 1865 J. R. Lowell in Atlantic Monthly June 796 ‘Chance wun't stop to listen to debatin'!’—‘God's truth!’ sez I. 1882 Rep. Select Comm. 153 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (47th Congr., 1st Sess.: Senate Rep. 878) IV Now, you may not believe me, but this is God's honest truth. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) That there's God's truth, nif tidn I an't got a thick stick in my hand! 1896 Evening News (Sydney) 13 May 7/1 ‘Why, God's truth,’ said she, ‘I've forgotten the tay! Now to think o' that!’ 1902 O. Wister Virginian x. 111 In admittin' yourself to be a liar you have spoke God's truth for onced. 1951 S. H. Bell December Bride i. vii. 46 To tell ye the God's truth, Agnes, I'm a very worrit man, and I don't know what way to turn, at all! 2006 Daily Mail (Nexis) 31 Jan. The agent..said he had ‘never been asked for, been offered, or given a backhander, and god's truth I don't know anyone who has’. 2010 J. McGregor Even Dogs (2011) iv. 128 Steve's done his time and that's the God's honest truth. b. With intensifying adjective own, conveying the pre-eminence of what is referred to by the noun, or (esp. in later use) simply for emphasis. Frequently in God's own (good or sweet) time, esp. with reference to something which takes a long time or is done in a leisurely manner.Earliest in God's own country n. at Compounds 2c.God's own (good) time frequently occurs (from an earlier period) in the literal sense ‘a time appointed by God’. ΚΠ 1807 Monthly Rev. Feb. 152 By Jasus, your honour! you're right there; it is God's own country. 1892 Harper's Mag. Feb. 432/1 A bottler of spring water advertises it as ‘God's own liver remedy’. 1929 L. M. Salmon Why is Hist. Rewritten? ii. 24 ‘Daylight saving time’ has divided society into hostile camps, one demanding the return to ‘God's own time’, without explanation of the applicableness of the descriptive term chosen. 1941 M. Allingham Traitor's Purse xx. 228 Amanda was God's own gift to anyone in a hole. 1948 N. Coward Diary 10 Jan. (2000) 101 Arrived at station, fortunately in good time. God's own monumental balls-up over reservations. 1979 Tucson (Arizona) Citizen 20 Sept. 9 a/2 He's taking God's own sweet time to do everything. 1985 W. Sheed Frank & Maisie xi. 253 The ex-Catholics would, he hoped, wander back in God's own good time. 2009 Toronto Star (Nexis) 21 Dec. a20 Grant was one of God's own rogues. c. God's ape n. †(a) a fool (obsolete); (b) a person who mimics God, chiefly in the proverb the devil is God's ape. ΚΠ a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 906 How ofte hastow..seyd þat loues seruantz euerychone Of nycete ben verray goddes Apes. 1553 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Eneados iv. Prol. 21 Ȝour trew suardis [bene] silly goddis apis. 1595 W. Covell Polimanteia sig. B1^v Now Satan desiring in this to bee Gods Ape, (thereby the better to abuse the world). 1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore sig. G2^v They that draw shapes, And liue by wicked faces, are but Gods Apes, They come but neere the life. 1607 S. Hieron Spirituall Sonne-ship in Wks. (1620) I. 360 The diuell is Gods ape, and seekes to counterfeit Him almost in euery thing. 1792 W. Huntington Forty Stripes save None for Satan Pref. p. iii Christian Reader, I think I may call Satan God's Ape. 1868 H. W. Longfellow John Endicott i. i. in New Eng. Trag. 12 Ye verify the adage That Satan is God's ape! 1958 C. S. Lewis Refl. on Psalms x. 106 That is why we call him God's Ape; he is always imitating God. 2007 S. Clark in A. Molho et al. Finding Europe iv. 120 The Christian devil was ‘God's ape’, constantly seeking to be honoured in ways that corresponded exactly but inversely with those of the true religion. † God's band n. [ < the genitive of god n. + band n.¹] Obsolete a binding obligation or injunction; spec. the bond of marriage. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > marriage vows or bonds > [noun] > marriage or wedding bond knota1225 benda1250 spousing bandc1275 God's banda1425 marriage bond1595 marriage knot1595 marriage noosec1600 noosec1600 marriage tie1664 bridal knot1679 marriage chain1679 the shackles1780 wedding-knot1902 a1425 Templum Domini in R. Cornelius Figurative Castle (Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr Coll.) (1930) 108 (MED) Þe fende..gan fande To tempe Adam..And made hym for to breke gods bande. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iv. 41 Hyr dochter..Wes coupillyt in-to Goddis band With Walter stewart off Scotland. † God's board n. Obsolete the altar, as the place where Holy Communion is received. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > altar > [noun] > communion table altarOE God's boarda1200 boardc1200 communion table1549 table1550 communion board1553 altela1555 a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 311 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 229 Al þat me radeð and singed bifore godes borde, Al hit hangeð and halt bi þese twam worde. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 235 Hi serueþ at godes borde of his coupe, of his breade, and of his wyne. c1425 Myrour to Lewde Men & Wymmen (Harl.) (1981) 197 Þei serueþ at Goddes bord and eteiþ of his brede & drinkeþ of his cuppe. 1538 Iniunctions for Clerge (single sheet) They ought not to presume to come to goddes boorde without perfite knowlege of the same. 1620 T. Gataker Mariage Praier 13 The vndue manner of the repairing euen of such to Gods board. a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) ii. 104 A fair white Linnen-Cloth, to cover God's Board. God's body n. now archaic and rare the sacramental bread. [Compare post-classical Latin corpus Domini (late 2nd or early 3rd cent. in Tertullian) and also corpus Christi (see Corpus Christi n.).] ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > consumables > eucharistic elements > bread > [noun] fleshc1000 ofleteOE mannaa1200 breada1225 bread of lifea1300 host1303 bodya1325 obleya1325 God's bodya1387 cakec1390 singing bread1432 bread of wheata1450 singing loaf1530 God's bread1535 bread god?1548 round robin?1548 holy bread1552 singing cake1553 Jack-in-the-box1554 wafer-cake?1554 wafer1559 wafer-bread1565 breaden god1570 mass cake1579 wafer-god1623 hostel1624 maker1635 hostie1641 oblata1721 altar bread1839 prosphora1874 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 313 A wenche..fenge Goddes body [L. communionem sanctam] an Ester day. 1451 in A. Clark Lincoln Diocese Documents (1914) 50 I will the prior..haue the Box for goddes body. 1549 J. Ponet Def. Mariage Priestes sig. Cvii ^v He hadde the same day sayde masse (which he called the makynge of Gods body). 2012 M. Rubin in I. C. Levy et al. Compan. to Eucharist in Middle Ages iii. 448 He made God's body at the altar, and offered communion to deserving parishioners once a year. God's book n. the Scriptures, the Bible (in plural in Old English). ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > [noun] Holy Writc900 writeOE God's bookOE writOE bookOE Biblea1300 holy lettrurec1330 scripturec1330 the (sacred or holy) writings1340 gospel1393 worda1425 escripture1489 Holy Write1508 theologya1513 the written word1533 Book of God1548 oracle1548 hand biblea1680 good book1740 sacred book1782 the sacred volume1850 bibliotheca1879 Kitab1885 OE Blickling Homilies 21 Gehyron we nu..hwæt awriten is on Godes bocum. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16900 Þe depe lare off godess boc. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7181 Godes boc. 1548 H. Latimer Notable Serm. sig. A.ii All thinges that are written in Goddes boke. 1635 D. Dickson Short Explan. Hebrewes vi. 28. 144 As manie Plagues as are written in God's Booke. 1863 Prophetic Times Jan. 14/2 The question between us and our opponents is..one of grammar and exegesis, as applied to the ascertainment of what God's book teaches. 1978 Third Way 6 Apr. 3/1 Prophecies..were written down and included in God's book. 2004 J. MacDonald God wrote Bk. (rev. ed.) iii. 79 There are still three more benefits you can receive from God's book. God's chest n. now historical a receptacle (in the Jewish Temple or a church) for money given for charitable purposes. [Compare Middle Low German gōdeskiste, gōdeskaste, German Gotteskasten (1522 in Luther, now historical).] ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > furniture > other furniture > [noun] > treasury corbana1400 God's chest1535 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Mark xii. 41 Iesus sat ouer agaynst the Gods chest & behelde how the people put money in to the Gods chest. c1600 Will of William Littlebury (Essex Rec. Office: D/P 26/25/19) [Gives £10 to] Godes chest [in Dedham Church]. a1891 W. Walker in Pioneers of Ceylon (1897) 109 The people that stood by the temple door With wonder gazed as they saw the wealth pour Into God's chest from the hoarded store. 1999 C. McIntosh tr. B. Roeck in O. P. Grell et al. Health Care & Poor Relief in Counter-Reformation Europe xiii. 287 There were complaints that the parish's God's Chest, donated long ago by the citizens, had been united with the Jesuits' chest. God's country n. a country regarded as especially favoured by God; spec. the United States, or some particular part of the United States; cf. God's own country n. ΚΠ 1709 tr. C. J. Poncet Voy. Æthiopia 16 This is a Plentiful Country, and..the Inhabitants have given it the Name of Beladalla, that is to say God's Country [Fr. païs de dieu]. 1722 I. Kimber et al. Hist. Eng. I. vii. 155 Pope Urban..by a zealous Harangue, animated the Prelates..to excite the Faithful to take up Arms for the Recovery of God's Country. 1865 R. H. Kellogg Life & Death in Rebel Prisons 118 I was willing to work hard, if I could only get out of that horrible den, into God's country once more. 1890 G. W. Perrie Buckskin Mose (new ed.) xv. 218 The memory of the little woman I had left behind me in the East, or ‘God's country’. 1904 ‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings xvii. 298 A man had better be in God's country living on free lunch than there. 1906 H. D. Pittman Belle of Bluegrass Country i. 1 I entered ‘God's Country’, as the natives call that portion of Kentucky which lies within a radius of thirty miles of Lexington. 1946 E. B. Thompson Amer. Daughter 10 We can work for..a real home.., out in God's country! 1960 B. Keaton My Wonderful World of Slapstick iv. 65 (heading) Back home again in God's Country. 1995 Denver Post 2 July b1/1 A passenger on the leg from Atlanta to Jackson informs everyone, ‘You're headed into God's country now.’ † God's-daughter n. Obsolete rare a person's soul. ΚΠ OE Homily (Junius 85) in A. M. Luiselli Fadda Nuove Omelie Anglosassoni (1977) 169 Ic [sc. the soul] wæs Godes dohter and ængla swystor.] c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 292 He mordryth goddys dowȝter, þat is, his owen soule. God's day n. a day or period of time belonging especially to God; spec. †the Day of Judgement, †Easter Day, or the Sabbath; (also) eternity. [With reference to the Day of Judgement after post-classical Latin dies domini (Vulgate); compare day of the Lord at day n. 11a.] ΚΠ OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 270 Prope est dies domini, gehende is godes dæg. OE Homily: Larspel & Scriftboc (Corpus Cambr. 421) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 244 Oððæt se eahtoða dæg cymð; þæt is domes dæg, þæt is se eca dæg.., godes dæg and ealra halgena dæg. ?a1500 Sermo in die Pasche in R. T. Hampson Medii Ævi Kalendarium (1841) II. 122 [The Paschal Day] in sum place is called Estern Day, in sum place Pace Day, and in sum place Goddis Day. 1652 E. Benlowes Theophila xii. xcvii. 231 Time in Eternities immense Book is But as a short Parenthesis..Gods Day is never-setting Bliss. 1695 E. Pelling Pract. Disc. conc. Redeeming of Time ix. 104 For 'tis not how long, but how well a Man lives, which God considers; nor is it his Years, but his Works, that will be regarded in God's Day. 1797 J. Bowdler Reform or Ruin (ed. 2) 28 How many..spend God's Day in doing their own business, or in jaunting about, or in getting drunk; though it is expressly ordered,..that we shall keep it holy! 1899 K. Chopin Awakening xiii. 91 It must always have been God's day on that low, drowsy island, Edna thought. 1964 Life 25 Dec. 7/2 The paradox is that this pattern will not be fulfilled or verified in history, but only in the suprahistorical event called God's day, the end of time. 2007 R. Saxen Good Eater iii. 30 On God's day there was no sunshine, there were no birds singing, no gentle breeze in the trees—no beauty. † God's eye n. Obsolete (rare before 19th cent.) †(a) (probably) clary, Salvia sclarea (cf. oculus Christi n.) (obsolete); (b) English regional germander speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Scrophulariaceae (figwort and allies) > [noun] > Veronica or speedwell lemkea1300 God's eye?a1350 waterlink?a1425 brooklimea1450 fluellin1548 Paul's betony1548 wood-penny1570 water pimpernel1575 ground-hele1578 speedwell1578 wild germander1578 germander chickweed1597 leper's herb1600 lime-wort1666 water purpy1683 water-speedwell1690 beccabunga1706 rock speedwell1719 Welsh speedwell1731 germander speedwell1732 St. Paul's betony1736 vernal speedwell1796 wall speedwell1796 cat's-eye1817 wellink1826 skull-cap1846 forget-me-not1853 veronica1855 angels' eyes1862 horse-cress1879 faverel1884 St. Paul's betony1884 ?a1350 in T. Hunt Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 124 [Gallitricum] godes-eie. 1870 Notes & Queries 26 Mar. 325/2 In confirmation of the latter derivation..may be cited ‘Angels' eyes’ and ‘god's eye’, two Devon names for this lovely little plant [sc. Veronica chamædrys]. 1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. God's eye, Veronica officinalis. If any one plucks it, his eyes will be eaten. 1913 N. L. Britton & A. Brown Illustr. Flora Northern U.S. (ed. 2) III. 201/2 Veronica Chamaèdrys... Other English names are..angel's-eye, god's-eye. 1920 W. E. Brenchley Weeds of Farm Land xiii. 225 Veronica chamædrys... germander speedwell, god's eye, lady's thimble, etc. God's-eye view n. [after bird's eye view n. 1] a view as might be seen by God; a view from a very exalted, or high and remote, position. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > [noun] > view or scenery > general or extensive prospect1538 respect1542 general1612 lookout1779 panorama1802 synopsis1844 God's-eye view1865 1865 J. G. Holland Plain Talks 257 A great city is a huge living creature... If we could be lifted above it, and obtain, not a bird's-eye view, but a God's-eye view of it, we should see its arteries throbbing with the majestic currents of life. 1920 A. Huxley Limbo 137 He prided himself on being able to see the thing as a whole, on taking an historical, God's-eye view of it all. 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. 2006 Time Out N.Y. 26 Oct. 111/4 We see underwater swarms of sea anemones, early biplanes taking off and landing with a cute bounce, God's eye views from the Space Shuttle. † God's flower n. Obsolete an everlasting flower; spec. Helichrysum stoechas. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > composite flowers > everlasting or immortelle yellow amaranth1551 gold-flower1578 mothwort1578 God's flower1597 golden cudweed1597 golden mothwort1597 moth-weed1597 aurelia1598 everlasting flower1610 everlasting1633 helichrysum1664 yellowheads1712 immortal herb1731 xeranthemum1736 eternal flower1785 immortelle1832 strawflower1924 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 522 Golden Flower is called in Latine Coma aurea..in English Golde Flower, Gods Flower, and Golden Stœcados. 1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words 23/1 Amaránto giállo, Goldilockes, Gods-flowre, or Gold-flowre. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 539/1 God's flower, Helichrysum Stœchas. † God's guest n. Obsolete a stranger, a casual visitor. ΚΠ c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xvi. l. 199 Mynstralcie can ich nat muche bote make men murye..and welcome godes gistes [MS gustes]. c1535 Ploughman's Tale iii. sig. C.ii On the poore they woll nought spende Ne no good gyve to goddes gest. † God's image n. Obsolete the human body.After Genesis 1:27: ‘God created man in his owne Image, in the Image of God created hee him’ (King James Bible). ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > [noun] lichamc888 bodyeOE earthOE lichOE bone houseOE dustc1000 fleshOE utter mana1050 bonesOE bodiȝlichc1175 bouka1225 bellyc1275 slimec1315 corpsec1325 vesselc1360 tabernaclec1374 carrion1377 corsec1386 personc1390 claya1400 carcass1406 lump of claya1425 sensuality?a1425 corpusc1440 God's imagea1450 bulka1475 natural body1526 outward man1526 quarrons1567 blood bulk1570 skinfula1592 flesh-rind1593 clod1595 anatomy1597 veil1598 microcosm1601 machine1604 outwall1608 lay part1609 machina1612 cabinet1614 automaton1644 case1655 mud wall1662 structure1671 soul case1683 incarnation1745 personality1748 personage1785 man1830 embodiment1850 flesh-stuff1855 corporeity1865 chassis1930 soma1958 a1450 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Douce 295) v. xiv. f. 116 Dispise þou noth godes ymage be ony dedly synne. 1837 Parl. Deb. 3rd Ser. 38 922 Many in that House were old enough to have seen God's image sorely mangled..for what were termed political offences. 1920 Christian Advocate 23 Sept. 1274/1 What can spoil God's image more than a sullen, covetous temperament? God's kichel n. now English regional (East Anglian) a kind of cake (perhaps originally one given in charity).With quot. c1410 cf. note at kichel n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > cake for specific occasion > others God's kichelc1410 christening cake1682 moon-cake1688 birthday cake1802 feast cake1845 burial-cake1864 yuan hsiao1945 c1410 (c1395) G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale (Harl. 7334) (1885) l. 1747 Ȝif vs a busshel whet or malt or reye A goddes kichil [c1405 Hengwrt Kechyl] or a trip of cheese. 1598 T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer 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. 1957 Times 16 Dec. 11/5 I was told in Suffolk these Christmas Eve cakes are known as ‘God's Kitchel’. 2007 Harwich & Manningtree Standard (Nexis) 31 May Their blessing..was given, together with a small cake called a God's kitchel. God's man n. a man devoted to the service of God, esp. a saint or minister of religion. [Compare Old Frisian godesmon , Middle Low German gōdesman , German Gottesmann (14th cent.), and also Old High German gotman . Compare also man of God n. at man n.¹ Phrases 2t and the discussion at that entry.] ΘΚΠ society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > [noun] God's maneOE priestOE clerkc1050 secularc1290 vicary1303 minister1340 divinec1380 man of Godc1384 kirkmana1400 man of the churchc1400 cockc1405 Ecclesiastc1405 spiritual1441 ministrator1450 abbé1530 reverend1547 churchman1549 tippet-captain?1550 tippet knight1551 tippet man1551 public minister1564 reading minister1572 clergyman1577 clerk1577 padre1584 minstrel1586 spiritual1600 cleric1623 cassock1628 Levite1640 gownsman1641 teaching elder1642 ecclesiastic1651 religionist1651 crape1682 crape-gown-man1682 man in black1692 soul driver1699 secularist1716 autem jet1737 liturge1737 officiant1740 snub-devil1785 soul doctor1785 officiator1801 umfundisi1825 crape-man1826 clerical1837 God-man1842 Pfarrer1844 liturgist1848 white-choker1851 rook1859 shovel hat1859 sky pilot1865 ecclesiastical1883 joss-pidgin-man1886 josser1887 sin-shiftera1912 sin-buster1931 parch1944 eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxvi. 352 Þa geswearc se Godes mon semninga. a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 266 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 228 (MED) He..nolde ihere godes men [v.r. godes sonde] þan he sat at his biede. c1330 in T. Wright Polit. Songs Eng. (1839) 329 He shal be lad into the halle..And Godes man stant ther oute. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 3588 Spak to þaim þe goddis man. 1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake II. xiv. 232 ‘Shall we burst open the door and kill them all?’ asked Sigtryg, simply. ‘No, King—no. They are God's men; and we have blood enough on our souls.’ 2001 Ebony Aug. 50/2 Minister/author Betty Ruth Price..is..the author of..Standing by God's Man, which details her many experiences as a pastor's wife. God's marks n. now historical and rare plague spots (see plague spot n. 1a); cf. God's token n. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > scar > of plague or smallpox pitOE pock frecken1530 God's marks1531 pock hole1552 pitting1593 pock-arr1611 pockmarka1646 pock-fret1652 plague-stripe1714 1531 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 105 He had a pestylensse sore in hys throtte, and a blayne under hys lefte erre, and also was full of Godys markys. 1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 40 A very good remedy agaynst the markes of the plage, commonly called Goddes markes [Fr. Tre-bon remede contre les taches de peste, ou pourpre]. 1662 J. Hoddesdon Hist. Sr. Thomas More vi. 46 Although after she was thereby throughly awaked, Gods marks and evident undoubted tokens of death plainly appeared upon her; yet she..miraculously recovered. 1665 R. Kingston Pillulæ Pestilentiales 14 In our Language we style the Pestilence the Visitation of God, and the Tokens thereof God's Marks. 2002 W. Viereck in J. Berns & J. van Marle Present-day Dialectol. 125 With regard to disease, the following Christian motivations were among those I found in the British Isles:..God's marks or God's tokens for marks of the plague. God's own country n. a country or region regarded as especially favoured by God; spec. (a) New Zealand (cf. Godzone n.); (b) the United States, or some particular part of the United States. Compare God's country n. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States states1776 United States1776 Yankee-land1803 God's own country1807 U.S.1834 Yankland1834 yankeedoodledom1845 Yankeedom1851 the land of the free1884 land of opportunity1948 U.S. of A.1973 the mind > emotion > pleasure > happiness > supreme or heavenly happiness > [noun] > place of supreme happiness heaveneOE Edena1225 paradise?a1300 Garden of Eden1535 eutopia1553 happy land1562 Arcady1590 Hesperidesa1592 Elysiuma1616 God's own country1807 lotusland1856 Adamless Eden1876 summerland1895 Shangri-La1941 1807God's own country [see Compounds 2b]. 1892 in R. Bailey & H. Roth Shanties (1967) 82 Give me, give me God's own country (from a spieler's point of view), Where the scripper and the sharper conjugate the verb ‘to do’. 1893 T. Bracken Lays & Lyrics 5 I am doing very well here [i.e. in Australia] but I would much sooner live on a far smaller salary in ‘God's own Country’. 1914 G. Atherton Perch of Devil i. 43 They always come home..talkin about..God's Own Country, and the Big Western Heart. 1926 J. Devanny Lenore Divine ii. 20 Richard John Seddon..the popularly acclaimed uncrowned king of the land he himself had named ‘God's Own Country’. 1978 B. E. G. Mason Awatea (rev. ed.) App. 110 E te iwi pakeha! You God's-own-country scum! 2012 Guardian 7 Aug. (Features section) 3 With its golden beaches, majestic moors and spectacular architecture, it [sc. Yorkshire] fully deserves its billing as ‘God's own country’. † God's sand n. [ < the genitive of god n. + sand n.¹] Obsolete God's dispensation; what is ordained or sent by God, spec. worldly possessions (cf. God's good n.). ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > worldly or secular property > regarded as God's gift God's sandOE God's gooda1425 God's send1629 OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 62 He com ða þurh Godes sande to þære foresædan byrig. c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 120 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 110 We wollen us onder-stonde Þat heo is in-to þis londe i-come, it is godes sonde. a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 21 (MED) Alle þe oþer pouraille..mihten be ful blyþe ant þonke godes sonde. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 219 Ye haue ynogh pardee of goddes sonde. a1450 York Plays (1885) 109 With synne was I neuer filid, Goddis sande is on me sene. a1500 Tale of Basin in M. M. Furrow Ten 15th-cent. Comic Poems (1985) 53 A riche man wex he..And knowen for a gode clerke þoro Goddis sande. God's send n. †(a) = God's sand n. (obsolete); (b) = godsend n. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > worldly or secular property > regarded as God's gift God's sandOE God's gooda1425 God's send1629 the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > an advantage, benefit, or favourable circumstance > a benefit > as sent from God or heaven God's gift1586 God's send1629 godsend1779 heaven-send1811 1629 Z. Boyd Balme of Gilead i. 36 Magicians of Egypt called the plague the finger of God, or Gods send. a1679 J. Brown Life of Faith (1726) ii. xv. 127 We should make the Cross of Christ welcome, because it is God's Send. 1701 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland 37 The more ignorant People construct this as a favourable Providence to them, therefore they call these wracks, God's send, tho not so favourable to the poor Mariners and others who suffer thereby. 1765 Scots Mag. Nov. 614 On the 30th the vessel was drove on shore in the parish of Mochrum; where it was no sooner known, that a God's send (as they call it) had come in there, than men, women, and children, flocked to the shore. 1820 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 28 Oct. 986 It has been a perfect ‘God's send’ to us. It has been so much of clear gains. 1856 J. Redmond Let. 4 Dec. in J. Rees Fishery of Arklow (2008) ii. 38 When I began my mission here a wreck was a God's send & to speak against wrecking was a heresy. 1956 Amer. Motorcycling Sept. 33/2 Just a note in appreciation to you and your organization, for the replacement of blood donated to me by your club. It was truly a God's send to me and my family. 2011 K. V. Williams My Enemy's Tears 321 Ah Rebecca, what would I do without you and your sisters to help me?.. A God's send, you are. God's Sunday n. now historical Easter Day. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in EastereOE Easter DayOE Easter SundayOE pasch dayc1175 resurrectionc1300 Great Dayc1350 pace daya1425 God's Sundaya1500 a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 131 This day ys called Godis Sonday; for Crist, Godis sonne of Heuen, þys day roos from deþ to lyue. ?a1500 Sermo in die Pasche in R. T. Hampson Medii Ævi Kalendarium (1841) II. 184 Þis is callede in some place Astur Day; & in sum place Pasche Day, & in summe place Godeis Sunday. 1835 Weekly Visitor 22 Sept. 351/1 By a record of the year 1511, it appears that the hall fire was discontinued at Easter-day, then called God's Sunday. 2012 Carmarthen Jrnl. (Nexis) 4 Apr. 56 In ancient times, Easter Sunday itself was known as the ‘Great Day’ or the ‘Feast of Feasts’. In parts of Britain it was also known as ‘God's Sunday’. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022). godv. Brit. /ɡɒd/, U.S. /ɡɑd/ Forms: also with capital initial. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: god n. Etymology: < god n. In sense 1 after Middle Low German vorgōden; compare Dutch vergoden to make into a god (1576), to make into a partaker of the Divine nature (1583). 1. transitive. To cause to become one with God; to make (a person) a partaker of the Divine nature. Chiefly in passive, esp. in godded with God, used by the Familists in the 16th and 17th centuries; cf. Christ v., familist n. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [adjective] > made one with godded with God1574 1574 C. Vitell tr. H. Niclaes Prophetie Spirit of Loue iii. f. 8 To becom whollie godded [Middle Low Ger. vorgodet] with God and his Christ, or incorporated to thatsame [sic] godly Beeinge. 1576 J. Knewstub Serm. in Confut. Heresies (1579) S 1 b For H.N. his Christe was..first man, and after, by his suffering, was Godded with God. 1645 E. Pagitt Heresiogr. 79 All illuminated Elders are Godded with God, or deified. 1656 Ld. President in T. Burton Diary (1828) I. 62 Your Familists affirm that they are Christed in Christ, and Godded in God. 1661 Pagitt's 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-much 63 Ridiculous Jargon of being Godded with God. 1751 G. Lavington Second Let. to Whitfield 38 For surely to impute to us the Righteousness of Christ, as God, is Godding us with God. 1837 T. W. Jenkyn Union Holy Spirit & Church ii. i. 254 They are not, according to some mystics, ‘godded with God’ when they are filled with the Spirit. 1932 R. M. Jones Mysticism & Democracy Eng. Commonw. iv. 128 Every person who is worthy to be called a Christian..‘godded with God’ in the spirit of perfect Love. 1975 16th Cent. Jrnl. 6 51 Their desire to be baptised mystically with the Holy Spirit, ‘Godded with God’, was a prelude to spiritual anarchy. 2011 S. M. Lucas God's Grand Design vi. 95 While the Spirit does not communicate his own proper nature, so that believers are somehow ‘“Godded” with God or “Christed” with Christ’. 2. a. transitive. To make into a god, to deify; to worship as a god. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > [verb (transitive)] heryc735 wortheOE hallowa1000 blessOE worshipa1200 servec1225 anourec1275 adorec1300 glorify1340 laud1377 magnifya1382 praisea1382 sacre1390 feara1400 reverencec1400 anorna1425 adorn1480 embrace1490 elevatea1513 reverent1565 god1595 venerate1623 thanksgivea1638 congratule1657 doxologizea1816 1595 E. Spenser Colin Clouts come Home Againe sig. D4^v Iove..taking [Cupid] vp to heauen, him godded new. 1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 81 He, Godding Calves, makes Izrael to Sin. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 11 This last old man..Lou'd me, aboue the measure of a Father, Nay godded me indeed. View more context for this quotation 1668 J. Glanvill Plus Ultra xiii. 93 In those days..men Godded their Benefactors. 1710 W. Brown Impiety & Superstition Expos'd 49 The Toasted Cake is Godded by the Priest. 1796 R. Jephson Conspiracy i. 14 This good emperor, Whom our prone senate have already godded,..is penetrable By any gallant steel. a1849 T. L. Beddoes Death's Jest-bk. (1850) iv. iii. 118 Are not our hearts, in these great pleasures godded, Let out awhile to their eternity, And made prophetic? 1870 H. N. Hudson Plays Shakespeare I. 428 The passage where Cassius mockingly gods Cæsar. 1884 Ld. Tennyson Becket v. iii. 209 How the good priest gods himself! 1956 C. S. Lewis Till we have Faces i. xxi. 250 ‘She began by being a mortal.’ ‘And how was she godded?’ b. transitive. to god it: = to play the god at god n. and int. Phrases 4b. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > speak or do with exaggeration [phrase] to go beyond the moon?c1430 to cast beyond the moon1559 to lay on load?1562 to lay it on with a trowela1616 all (his) geese are swans1621 to draw (also pull, shoot) the long bow1667 to lay it on thick1740 to sling (also fling, throw) the hatchet1778 to come it1796 to make a thing about (also of)1813 to draw with the long-bow1823 to pitch it strong1823 to overegg the pudding1845 to put (spread, etc.) it on thick1865 to god it1870 to strong it1964 to stretch it (or things)1965 1870 H. N. Hudson Plays Shakespeare I. 428 Thus we have Cæsar..godding it in the loftiest style when the daggers of the assassins are on the very point of leaping at him. 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. Derivatives ˈgodded adj. [compare ungodded adj.] ΚΠ ?1574 C. Vitell tr. H. Niclaes Dicta i. f. 3^v All that which a perfect godded Man [Middle Low Ger. vorgodet Minsche] speaketh, witnesseth, and teacheth, among the Disciples & Beleeuers of the Woord. a1616 F. Beaumont Marriage Young Gentlewoman with Anc. Man in Poems (1640) I 1 a Smooth, as the godded Swan, or Venus Dove. 1675 J. Smith Christian Relig. Appeal i. 18 While impious Cæsar and his Godded rout spurn [etc.]. 1718 J. Claggett Arianism Anatomized 73 No Godded Creature, as Mr. Chubb's Christ..would be in any respect like him. 1826 Lit. Lounger May 230 These people beg us send a deputation To Jove, the ruler of the Godded nation. 1868 Congregationalist & Boston Recorder 19 Nov. It wants a Godded man to know who God is. 1960 Times Lit. Suppl. 8July 484/2 St Paul's godded dome That nobody calls home. 1998 Atlanta Jrnl.-Constit. (Nexis) 28 May 2 The new world of these godded athletes. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.int.eOEv.1574
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godn.int.

Phrases

Compounds

godv.

Derivatives