Goð

Old Norse Dictionary - goð

Meaning of Old Norse word "goð" in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

goð Old Norse word can mean:

goð: n. pl. [all the Teutonic languages have this word in common; Ulf. guþa, n. pl., Gal. iv. 8; guda, id., John x. 34, 35; and Guþ, m.; A. S. godu, n. pl., and God, m.; O. H. G. Cot: in mod. languages masc.; Engl. God; Germ. Gott; Dan.-Swed. Gud].

goð: A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—In heathen times this word was neuter, and was used almost exclusively in plur., as were also other words denoting Godhead, e. g. regin or rögn = numina, q. v.; and bönd, höpt, prop. = bonds, and metaph. gods:—this plur. usage seems not to refer to a plurality of gods, but rather, as the Hebrew אלהים, to the majesty and mystery of the Godhead; it points to an earlier and purer faith than that which was current in the later ages of the Scandinavian heathendom; thus the old religious poem Völuspá distinguishes a twofold order of gods,—the heavenly powers (regin or ginn-heilög goð) who had no special names or attributes, and who ruled the world, like the Μοιρα or Αισα of Gr. mythology;—and the common gods who were divided into two tribes, Æsir (Ases) and Vanir, whose conflict and league are recorded in Vsp. 27, 28, and Edda 47.

goð: II. after the introduction of Christianity, the masculine gender (as in Greek and Latin) superseded the neuter in all Teutonic languages, first in Gothic, then in Old High German and Anglo-Saxon, and lastly in the Scandinavian languages; but neither in Gothic nor in Icel. did the word ever take the masc. inflexive r or s, so that it remains almost unique in form.

goð: 2. in Scandinavian the root vowel was altered from o to u (goð to guð), [Swed.-Dan. gud], yet in old poems of the Christian age it is still made to rhyme with o, Goðs, boðnum; Goð, roðnar, Sighvat; as also in the oldest MSS. of the 12th century; sometimes however it is written ḡþ, in which case the root vowel cannot be discerned.

goð: 3. in Icel. the pronunciation also underwent a change, and the g in Guð (God) is now pronounced gw (Gwuð), both in the single word and in those proper names which have become Christian, e. g. Guðmundr pronounced Gwuðmundr, whence the abbreviated form Gvendr or Gvöndr. The old form with o is still retained in obsolete words, as goði, goðorð, vide below, and in local names from the heathen age, as Goð-dalir; so also Gormr (q. v.), which is contracted from Goð-ormr not Guð-ormr. On the other hand, the Saxon and German have kept the root vowel o.

goð: III. in old poems of heathen times it was almost always used without the article; gremdu eigi goð at þér, LS.; áðr vér heilög goð blótim, FaS. i. (in a verse); ginnheilög Goð, Vsp. passim; goðum ek þat þakka, Am. 53; með goðum, Alm.; in prose, en goð hefna eigi alls þegar, Nj. 132.

goð: 2. with the article goð-in, Vsp. 27: freq. in prose, um hvat reiddusk goðin þá er hér brann hraunit er nú stöndu vér á, BS. i. (Kr. S.) 22; eigi eru undr at goðin reiðisk tölum slíkum, id.; Hallfreðr lastaði eigi goðin, þó aðrir menn hallmælti þeim, FmS. ii. 52; allmikin hug leggr þú á goðin, FS. 94; eigi munu goðin þessu valda, Nj. 132, passim.

goð: 3. very seldom in sing., and only if applied to a single goddess or the like, as Öndor-goðs (gen.), Haustl. 7; Vana-goð, of Freyja, Edda; enu skírleita goði, of the Sun, Gm. 39.

goð: IV. after the introduction of Christianity, the neut. was only used of false gods in sing. as well as in pl., Sólar-goð = Apollo, Orrostu-goð = Mars, Drauma-goð = Morpheus, Bret. (Verel.); and was held up for execration by the missionaries; gör þik eigi svá djarfa, at þú kallir goð hinn hæsta konung er ek trúi á, Fb. i. 371. Yet so strongly did the neut. gender cleave to the popular mind that it remains (Grág. Kb. i. 192) in the oath formula, goð gramt = Goð gramr; and Icel. still say, í Guðanna (pl.) bænum.

goð: 2. guðír, masc. pl., as in A. S. gudas, is freq. in eccl. writers, but borrowed from the eccl. Lat.

goð: B. IN COMPDS:

goð: I. with nouns, goða-blót, n. sacrifice to the gods, Fb. i. 35. goða-gremi, f. a term in the heathen oath, wrath of the gods, Eg. 352. goða-heill, f. favour of the gods, Þorst. Síðu H. 9. goða-hús, n. a house of gods, temple, Dropl. 11, Nj. 131, Fb. i. 337. goða-stallar, m. pl. the altar in temples, FaS. i. 454. goða-stúka, u, f. the sanctuary in heathen temples, answering to the choir or sanctuary in churches, Landn. 335 (App.) goða-tala, u, f. in the phrase, í goðatölu, in the tale (list) of gods, 625. 41. goð-borinn, part. διογενής, god-born, Hkv. 1. 29. goð-brúðr, f. bride of the gods (the goddess Skaði), Edda (in a verse). Goð-dalir, m. pl. a local name, hence Goð-dælir, m. pl. a family, Landn. goð-gá, f. blasphemy against the gods, Nj. 163, Ld. 180. goð-heimr, m. the home of the gods, Stor. 20, cp. Ýt. goð-konungr, m. (cp. Gr. διογενής βασιλεύς), a king,—kings being deemed the offspring of gods, Ýt. goð-kunnigr and goð-kyndr, adj. of the kith of gods, Edda 6, 11, 13. goð-lauss, adj. godless, a nickname, Landn. goð-lax, m. a kind of salmon, Edda (gl.) goð-leiðr, adj. loathed by the gods, Korm. goð-máligr, adj. skilled in the lore of the gods, Hým. 38. goð-mögn, n. pl. divine powers, deities, Edda 1; biðja til þinna goðmagna, Bret. (Verel.) goð-reið, f. ‘a ride of gods’ through the air, a meteor, thought to forebode great events, Glúm. (in a verse), cp. the Swed. åska. goð-rifi, n. scorn of the gods, SkS. 435. goð-rækr, adj. ‘god-forsaken,’ wicked, 623. 30. goðum-leiðr, adj. = goðleiðr, Landn. (in a verse). goð-vargr, m. a ‘god-worrier,’ sacrilegus, ‘lupus in sanctis,’ BS. i. 13 (in a verse). goð-vefr, vide guðvefr. goð-vegr, m. the way of the gods, the heaven, the sky, Hdl. 5. Goð-þjóð, f. the abode of the gods, Vsp.:—but Goth. Gut-þjuda = the land of the Goths, by assimilation Goð-þjóð, passim in old poems and the SagaS.

goð: II. with pr. names, originally Goð-, later and mod. Guð-; of men, Guð-brandr, Guð-laugr, Guð-leifr, Guð-mundr, Guð-röðr, Guð-ormr or Gutt-ormr, etc.; of women, Guð-björg, Guð-finna, Guð-laug, Guð-leif, Guð-ný, Guð-ríðr, Guð-rún, etc.; cp. the interesting statement in Eb. (App.) 126 new Ed. (from the Hauks-bók), that men of the olden time used to call their sons and daughters after the gods (Goð-, Þór-, Frey-, Ás-); and it was thought that a double (i. e. a compound) name gave luck and long life, esp. those compounded with the names of gods; menn höfðu mjök þá tvau nöfn, þótti þat likast til langlífis ok heilla, þótt nokkurir fyrirmælti þeim við goðin, þá mundi þat ekki saka, ef þeir ætti eitt nafn, though any one cursed them by the gods it would not hurt if they had ‘one’ name, i. e. if they were the namesakes of the gods, Eb. l. c.;—we read ‘eitt nafn’ for ‘eitt annat nafn’ of the Ed. and MS. In Fb. i. 23, the mythical king Raum is said to have had three sons, Alf, Björn, and Brand; the first was reared by the Finns, and called Finn-Alf; Björn by his mother (a giantess), and called Jötun-Björn; and Brand was given to the gods, and called Goð-Brand (Guð-brandr, whence Guðbrands-dalir, a county in Norway); cp. also Eb. ch. 7.

goð: ☞ For the Christian sense of God and its compds vide S. v. Guð.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚴᚢᚦ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

id.: idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

masc.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

pl.: plural.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

v.: vide.

e. g.: exempli gratia.

Gr.: Greek.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

plur.: plural.

prop.: proper, properly.

q. v.: quod vide.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

gen.: genitive.

sing.: singular.

neut.: neuter.

eccl.: ecclesiastical.

Lat.: Latin.

adj.: adjective.

cp.: compare.

Goth.: Gothic.

part.: participle.

ch.: chapter.

esp.: especially.

etc.: et cetera.

i. e.: id est.

l. c.: loco citato.

pr.: proper, properly.

s. v.: sub voce.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Vsp.: Völuspá. (A. I.)

Alm.: Alvís-mál. (A. I.)

Am.: Atla-mál. (A. II.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Ls.: Loka-senna. (A. I.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)

Kr. S.: Kristni Saga. (D. I. III.)

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Haustl.: Haustlöng. (A. I.)

Bret.: Breta Sögur. (G. I.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Kb.: Konungs-bók. (B. I, C. I, etc.)

Verel.: Verelius, Index.

Dropl.: Droplaugar-sona Saga. (D. II.)

Eg.: Egils Saga. (D. II.)

Glúm.: Víga-Glúms Saga. (D. II.)

Hdl.: Hyndlu-ljóð. (A. II.)

Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)

Hým.: Hýmis-kviða. (A. I.)

Korm.: Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

Stor.: Sona-torrek. (A. III.)

Þorst. Síðu H.: Þorsteins Saga Síðu-Hallssonar. (D. II.)

Björn: Biörn Halldórsson.

Eb.: Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Also available in related dictionaries:

This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.