Oddly, the exact history of the word God is unknown.
All that we know for certain is that the word God is a relatively new European invention, which was never used in any of the ancient Judaeo-Christian scripture manuscripts which were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek or Latin.
This situation is quite remarkable, since there is a long history of people arguing and fighting over the name of God, yet we don't even know where the word came from!
According to the best efforts of linguists and researchers, the most common theory is that the root of the present word God is the Sanskrit word hu which means to call upon, invoke, implore.
Nonetheless, it is also interesting to note the strong similarity to the ancient Persian word for God which isKhoda (or Khuda).
The following is a survey of some of the efforts of the linguists who have been trying to decipher the ancient roots of the word God:
Webster's 1913 Dictionary: \God\ (g[o^]d), n. [AS. god; akin to OS. & D. god, OHG. got, G. gott, Icel. gu[eth], go[eth], Sw. & Dan. gud, Goth. gup, prob. orig. a p. p. from a root appearing in Skr. h[=u], p. p. h[=u]ta, to call upon, invoke, implore. [root]30. Cf. {Goodbye}, {Gospel}, {Gossip}.] Catholic Encyclopedia: Etymology of the Word "God" (Anglo-Saxon God; German Gott; akin to Persian khoda ...). God can variously be defined as:
The root-meaning of the name (from Gothic root gheu; Sanskrit hub or emu, "to invoke or to sacrifice to") is either "the one invoked" or "the one sacrificed to." From different Indo-Germanic roots (div, "to shine" or "give light"; thes in thessasthai "to implore") come the Indo-Iranian deva, Sanskrit dyaus (gen. divas), Latin deus, Greek theos, Irish and Gaelic dia, all of which are generic names; also Greek Zeus (gen. Dios, Latin Jupiter (jovpater), Old Teutonic Tiu or Tiw (surviving in Tuesday), Latin Janus, Diana, and other proper names of pagan deities. The common name most widely used in Semitic occurs as 'el in Hebrew, 'ilu in Babylonian, 'ilah in Arabic, etc.; and though scholars are not agreed on the point, the root-meaning most probably is "the strong or mighty one."
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06608x.htm Oxford English Dictionary: "god (gρd). Also 3-4 godd. [Com. Teut.: OE. god (masc. in sing.; pl. godu, godo neut., godas masc.) corresponds to OFris., OS., Du. god masc., OHG. got, cot (MHG. got, mod.Ger. gott) masc., ON. goð, guðneut. and masc., pl. goð, guð neut. (later Icel. pl. guðir masc.; Sw., Da. gud), Goth. guÞ (masc. in sing.; pl.guÞa, guda neut.). The Goth. and ON. words always follow the neuter declension, though when used in the Christian sense they are syntactically masc. The OTeut. type is therefore *guđom neut., the adoption of the masculine concord being presumably due to the Christian use of the word. The neuter sb., in its original heathen use, would answer rather to L. numen than to L. deus. Another approximate equivalent of deus in OTeut. was *ansu-z (Goth. in latinized pl. form anses, ON. ρss, OE. Ós- in personal names, ésa genit. pl.); but this seems to have been applied only to the higher deities of the native pantheon, never to foreign gods; and it never came into Christian use.
The ulterior etymology is disputed. Apart from the unlikely hypothesis of adoption from some foreign tongue, the OTeut. *gubom implies as its pre-Teut. type either *ghudho-m or *ghutó-m. The former does not appear to admit of explanation; but the latter would represent the neut. of the passive pple. of a root *gheu-. There are two Aryan roots of the required form (both *glheu, with palatal aspirate): one meaning ‘to invoke’ (Skr. hū), the other ‘to pour, to offer sacrifice’ (Skr. hu, Gr. χέειν, OE. yéotan YETE v.). Hence *glhutó-m has been variously interpreted as ‘what is invoked’ (cf. Skr. puru-hūta ‘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’.
Some scholars, accepting the derivation from the root *glheu- to pour, have supposed the etymological sense to be ‘molten image’ (= Gr. χυγόν), but the assumed development of meaning seems very unlikely.
transcribed from The Oxford English Dictionary Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary: god \God\ (g[o^]d), n. [AS. god; akin to OS. & D. god, OHG. got, G. gott, Icel. gu[eth], go[eth], Sw. & Dan. gud, Goth. gup, prob. orig. a p. p. from a root appearing in Skr. h[=u], p. p. h[=u]ta, to call upon, invoke, implore. [root]30. Cf. Goodbye, Gospel, Gossip.] 1. A being conceived of as possessing supernatural power, and to be propitiated by sacrifice, worship, etc.; a divinity; a deity; an object of worship; an idol. He maketh a god, and worshipeth it. --Is. xliv. 15. The race of Israel . . . bowing lowly down To bestial gods. --Milton. 2. The Supreme Being; the eternal and infinite Spirit, the Creator, and the Sovereign of the universe; Jehovah. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=god
American Heritage Dictionary:
GOD NOUN: 1. God a. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions. b. The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being. 2. A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality. 3. An image of a supernatural being; an idol. 4. One that is worshiped, idealized, or followed: Money was their god. 5. A very handsome man. 6. A powerful ruler or despot. ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Old English. See gheu(): in APPENDIX I
APPENDIX I: ENTRY: gheu()-
DEFINITION: To call, invoke. Oldest form *heu()-, becoming *gheu()- in centum languages. Suffixed zero-grade form *ghu-to-, “the invoked,” god. a. god, from Old English god, god; b. giddy, from Old English gydig, gidig, possessed, insane, from Germanic *gud-iga-, possessed by a god; c. götterdämmerung, from Old High German got, god. a–c all from Germanic *gudam, god. (Pokorny hau- 413.)
An Additional On-Line Reference:
Now if the sources noted above are accurate, then the word that we use for the Supreme Being, God, comes from a very pagan origin. Thus the word god is used generically by many different religions to refer to their deity or “invoked one.”
Some may laugh at the notion, the very idea that the word “God” has any origin or association with Hindu Sanskrit. To illustrate how this is possible, we again quote from ‘Family Word Finder’ on the historical development of our Modern English language:
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Monday, December 28, 2015
Origin of the Word God. God is the name of a Deity
Friday, December 4, 2015
God, who is Gawd who is Gad
God, who is Gawd, who is Gad
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Is “God” a name?
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The original text indicates the word for our Creator is Elohim or Yahweh (Jehovah, depending on the pronunciation).
Those in the middle east still keep the “el” or “al” sounds as the word for the Creator.
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![clip_image002[4]](https://heavenawaits.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/clip_image0024.jpg "clip_image002[4]")
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Where did the English word “God” come from?
One unsettling explanation is here:
Isaiah 65:11
But you are those who forsake the Lord,The words God (English) and Gad (Hebrew) are pronounced exactly the same way: “Gawd”
Who forget my holy mountain,
Who prepare table for Gad.
And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.
God / Gawd / Gad was a pagan deity, so why do we call the Father in heaven by this pagan name?
Scripture says we should not defile his name, or even speak the name of another god, which would give it recognition and possible merit.
Exd 23:13 And in all [things] that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.So, why are we pronouncing the name of God / Gawd / Gad?
Deut 12:3-4 says that we should, instead, destroy the images and names of false gods:
And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire: you shall cut down their carved images of the gods and destroy their names from that place.The Lord indicates that only by his name are we saved.
I am wondering how many useless prayers are made to “God / Gawd / Gad.”
This word has no power, no redemption. There may be no answer to these prayers as well.
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Conclusion:
In our prayers, we should be using the proper names Yahweh / Jehovah to indicate the correct deity to whom we are praying.
In our conversation, we should not use the term “God,” but the proper name of Yahweh, or Jehovah, instead.
Otherwise, we appear to be corrupting the name of Yahweh, or making reference to a different deity.
*** When in doubt, address the Father, in Jesus name. Not even the Jews know how to pronounce the name of the Creator, so they just call Him “Hashem,” or “The Name.”
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Another website that addresses this issue:
http://www.illuminati-news.com/god-is-satan.htm
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Major References That Prove God Is Gad A Pagan Deity:
Gad – A 15th Century Of God
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=561509118
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Gad – etymology, a form of Godhttp://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=Gad&goquery=Find+it%21&Language=ENG
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“Gad is another ordinary common noun in Hebrew. It means ‘good luck’. We all want as much of it as we can get. So it is not surprising that it became a proper noun, the name of some people, a tribe of Israel, and a god. The god Gad was not ordinarily identified with Baal. But the identities of ancient Mediterranean gods were quite fluid, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the two deities were identified with each other somewhere at some time.”
http://beth-abraham.org/baal.html
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The Correction Definition Of The Word God:
“Gad is a Syrian or Canaanite deity of good luck or fortune. In Hebrew, it is written GD, but with Massoretic vowel-pointing, it is “Gad.” Other Scriptural references to a similar deity, also written GD, have a vowel-pointing giving us “Gawd” or “God.” Gad, or Gawd is identified with Jupiter, the Sky-deity or the Sun-deity. “
http://www.assemblyoftrueisrael.com/IsJesusGod/thewordgod.html
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