goð

See also: góð

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔːð/
• Rhymes: -ɔːð

Noun

goð n (genitive singular goðs, nominative plural goð)

1. an idol, a pagan god

Declension

declension of goð

n-s	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	goð	goðið	goð	goðin
accusative	goð	goðið	goð	goðin
dative	goði	goðinu	goðum	goðunum
genitive	goðs	goðsins	goða	goðanna

Derived terms

• eingyðistrú
• fjölgyðistrú
• goðafræði

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Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gudą (“invoked one”). Cognate with Old English god, Old Frisian god, Old Saxon god, Old Dutch got, Old High German got, Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐌸 (guþ).
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutóm (“invoked”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡoð/

Noun

goð n (genitive goðs, plural goð)

1. (Norse belief) the æsir, a clan of vættir nature beings that humans invoke
   • Vǫluspá, verse 6, lines 3-4, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 2:

     […] ginnheilög goð, / ok um þat gættusk: […]

     […] most holy invoked ones, / and held council: […]

2. (Christianity, especially in compounds) a god of any polytheism, understood as a false god
   • Clemens saga 2, in 1874, C. R. Unger, Postola sögur: Legendariske fortællinger om apostlernes liv. Copenhagen, page 127:

     […] i musteri solar goþs, es Apollo heiter […]

     […] in the temple of the solar god, as Apollo is called […]

Declension

  Declension of goð (strong a-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	goð	goðit	goð	goðin
accusative	goð	goðit	goð	goðin
dative	goði	goðinu	goðum	goðunum
genitive	goðs	goðsins	goða	goðanna

Derived terms

Terms derived from goð

• draumagoð (“Morpheus”)
• goðablót (“sacrifice to the gods”)
• goðagremi (“gods' wrath for oath-breaking”)
• goðaheill (“gods' favor”)
• goðahús (“temple”)
• goðareiði (“gods' wrath for oath-breaking”)
• goðastallar (“temple-altar”)
• goðastúka (“sanctuary”)
• goðatala (“tale of gods”)
• goðborinn (“god-born”)
• goðbrúðr (“Skadi”)
• goðdómr (“godhead”)
• goðgá (“blasphemy”)
• goðkonungr (“king”)
• goðkunnigr, goðkyndr (“of the kith of gods”)

• goðheimr (“home of the gods”)
• goðmálugr (“skilled in the lore of the gods”)
• goðmǫgn (“divine powers, deities”)
• goðorð (“priest's authority”)
• goðorðslauss (“without a priest's authority”)
• goðorðsmaðr (“owner of a priest's authority”)
• goðorðsmál (“action concerning priest's authority”)
• goðorðstilkall (“claim to a priest's authority”)
• goðrifi (“scorn of the gods”)
• goðvefr (“velvet, costly weaving”)
• goðvegr (“way of the gods”)
• goðrækr (“godforsaken, wicked”)
• goðvargr (“one who commits sacrilege in a temple”)
• orrostugoð (“Mars”)
• sólargoð (“Apollo”)

Related terms

• guð (“1. being known to answer when invoked; 2. infinite God of monotheism”)
• goði (“alternate title for a jarl, invoker or invokee”)
• gyðja (“1. a female goð; 2. a female goði”)

• gyzki (“wonder”)

• gyzki (“wonder”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: goð n

References

• goð in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, R. Cleasby and G. Vigfússon, Clarendon Press, 1874, at Internet Archive.
• goð in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.