Where does “godfather” come from?
Godfather comes from Middle English godfader, from Old English godfæder, a compound of god and fæder meaning father.
godfather (English): A man present at the christening of a baby who...
Definitions
- A man present at the christening of a baby who...
Ancestry of “godfather”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | godfader | godfather |
| 2 | Old English | godfæder | godfather |
| 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 |
Words derived from “godfather”