Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Gott” come from?

Gott derives from Middle High German got, Old High German got, and Proto-Indo-European ǵʰutós, ultimately from the root ǵʰewH-.

Ancestry of “Gott”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germangott—
2Middle High Germangot—
3Old High Germangotgod
4Proto-West Germanicgōdgood
5Proto-Germanicgudąinvoked one; god, deity
6Proto-Germanicgastizstranger, guest
7Proto-Indo-Europeangʰóstisstranger, host
8Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →