# Who came with the word 'God'

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 3, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734 "2001-08-03T03:18:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jukeball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@Jukeball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jukeball)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734/1 "2001-08-03T03:18:10Z")

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Any Theories?

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734/2 "2001-08-03T03:38:46Z")

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:can’t resist::

Millions.

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**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734/3 "2001-08-03T03:52:12Z")

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Do you mean “What are the origins of the word ‘god’ in the English language?”

According to the [_American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language_](http://www.bartleby.com/61/), the word [god](http://www.bartleby.com/61/21/G0172100.html) comes from the Indo-European root [“gheu(\*)-”](http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE166.html) (where the “\*” denotes that upside-down “e” thingy), the basic meaning of which was “to call, invoke”; “god” thus being “the invoked”, or one called upon.

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**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734/4 "2001-08-03T14:28:02Z")

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I don’t know, **samclem** , I’m more of a “Jeeeeeeeeeeeee-sus” person, myself.

🙂

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**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734/5 "2001-08-03T15:42:18Z")

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**Man first hit his thumb with a hammer?** [list][list][list]😉

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**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-with-the-word-god/74734/6 "2001-08-03T17:10:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \*  
> \*\*Do you mean “What are the origins of the word ‘god’ in the English language?”
> 
> According to the [_American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language_](http://www.bartleby.com/61/), the word [god](http://www.bartleby.com/61/21/G0172100.html) comes from the Indo-European root [“gheu(\*)-”](http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE166.html) (where the “\*” denotes that upside-down “e” thingy), the basic meaning of which was “to call, invoke”; “god” thus being “the invoked”, or one called upon. \*\*

The OED says “The ulterior etymology is disputed.” The explanation listed above is one of the possibilities. The other is the same root, but meaning “to pour, to offer sacrifice.” I would paste the entire section here, but it is pretty long, and it has all sorts of funky symbols. Here’s part:

> [@](#):
>
> Hence \*ghutó-m [there’s a weird diamond thing between the “g” and “h”] has been variously interpreted as ‘what is invoked’ (cf. Skr. _puru-huta_ ‘much-invoked’, an epithet of Indra) and as ‘what is worshipped by sacrifice’ (cf. Skr. _hutá_, which occurs in the sense ‘sacrificed to’ as well as in that of ‘offered in sacrifice’). Either of these conjectures is fairly plausible, as they both yield a sense practically coincident with the most obvious definition deducible from the actual use of the word, ‘an object of worship’.