Where does “godforsaken” come from?
Godforsaken is a compound of English god and forsaken, with god deriving from Middle English God, from Proto-Germanic gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European gʰedʰ-.
godforsaken (English): Abandoned by a deity or god; Particularly awful;...
Definitions
- Abandoned by a deity or god; Particularly awful;...
Ancestry of “godforsaken”, step by step
godforsaken traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
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 |
via English forsaken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | forsaken | Deserted; abandoned; Helpless; past participle of... |
| 2 | English | forsake | To abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something) |
| 3 | Middle English | forsaken | to reject, deny |
| 4 | Old English | forsacan | to oppose, give up (something), renounce |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *frasakan | — |