Where does “goddamn” come from?
Goddamn combines English God with Middle English God, derived from Old French dampner, from Latin damnare meaning "to condemn," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰedʰ-.
goddamn (English): Damned by God
Definitions
- Damned by God
Ancestry of “goddamn”, step by step
goddamn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English damn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | damn | To condemn to hell; To condemn; to declare... |
| 2 | Middle English | dampnen | to damn |
| 3 | Old French | dampner | to damn |
| 4 | Latin | damnō | to discredit, find fault, disapprove, reject |
| 5 | Latin | damnum | damage or injury; loss; a fine |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | dapnom | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dh₂pnóm | expense, investment |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂p- | to sacrifice; to lose |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂- | to share, divide |
via English God
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | God | A being such as a monotheistic God: a single... |
| 2 | Middle English | god | A god or deity; a divine individual; A person... |
| 3 | Old English | gōd | a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gōd | good |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gudą | invoked one; god, deity |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | gastiz | stranger, guest |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰóstis | stranger, host |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |