godsend

English

WOTD – 19 August 2023

Etymology

A variant of God’s send, from God +‎ ’s +‎ send (“(obsolete) act of sending”), in the sense of someone or something sent by God.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɒdsɛnd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑdˌsɛnd/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: god‧send

Noun

godsend (plural godsends)

1. An instance of unexpected benefit or good fortune; a windfall.
   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A Discovery”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 207:

     "You do, indeed, seem to take it to heart!" exclaimed the actress, an expression of jealous anger crossing her features; "why, it is quite a God-send for you! many a heart is caught in the rebound. […]"

   • 1843 November, Thomas De Quincey, “Ceylon”, in Speculations Literary and Philosophic: With German Tales and Other Narrative Papers (De Quincey’s Works; XII), London: James Hogg & Sons, →OCLC, page 27:

     [O]nce again, as in 1803, we were on the brink of being sacrificed to the very lunacies of retrenchment. By a mere god-send, more troops happened to arrive from the Indian continent.

   • 1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter VI, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, page 80:

     By this time my wife was in Barcelona and used to send me tea, chocolate, and even cigars when such things were procurable; but even in Barcelona everything was running short, especially tobacco. The tea was a godsend, though we had no milk and seldom any sugar.

   • 1949 November–December, O[swald] S[tevens] Nock, “Twenty-Four Hours at York—2”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 357–358:

     To the onlooker, and particularly to those whose memories go back to pre-grouping days, the modern cavalcade of "V2s" and "B1s" is apt to become a little monotonous; but to any running man the general utility characteristics of these two classes are a perfect godsend at times of exceptional pressure, when it is often a case of "first in—first out" with locomotive allocations at sheds.

   1. (specifically, UK, regional, archaic) The wreck of a ship which has washed up on shore, from which cargo, timber, etc., may be obtained.
      • 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in The Pirate. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 183:

        Its seldom sic [such] rich Godsends come on our coast—no since the Jenny and James came ashore in King Charlie's time.

2. A person who provides greatly needed assistance.

Alternative forms

• God-send

Related terms

• godsent

Translations

instance of unexpected benefit or good fortune

• Arabic: ضَرْبَة حَظّ f (ḍarba(t) ḥaẓẓ), مُصَادَفَة سَعِيدَة f (muṣādafa(t) saʕīda), مِنْحَة إِلٰهِيَّة f (minḥa(t) ʔilāhiyya)
• Belarusian: бо́жы дар m (bóžy dar)
• Bulgarian: бо́жи дар m (bóži dar)
• Czech: dar z nebes m
• Dutch: godsgeschenk (nl) n
• Finnish: onnenpotku, taivaanlahja
• French: don du ciel (fr) m
• German: Geschenk des Himmels, Glücksfall (de) m
• Greek: θείο δώρο n (theío dóro)

  Ancient: ἕρμαιον n (hérmaion)

• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} מתנה משמים f (mataná mi šamájim)
• Italian: colpo di fortuna
• Macedonian: бо́жји дар m (bóžji dar), бла́годат m (blágodat)
• Plautdietsch: Säajen m
• Polish: dar niebios m
• Portuguese: dádiva (pt) f
• Russian: благода́ть (ru) f (blagodátʹ), бо́жий дар (ru) m (bóžij dar), ниспосла́ние госпо́дне n (nisposlánije gospódne)
• Slovak: dar z nebies m
• Swedish: skänk från ovan c, gudagåva c
• Tagalog: hulog ng langit
• Ukrainian: бо́жий дар m (bóžyj dar)

wreck of a ship which has washed up on shore — see shipwreck

person who provides greatly-needed assistance

• Finnish: taivaanlahja
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

See also

• serendipity
• manna

Further reading

• “godsend, n.”, in Collins English Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Dodgens, Goddens, dogends