Where does “goshawful” come from?
goshawful (English) comes from English gosh, from English God, from Middle English god, from Old English gōd, from Proto-West Germanic gōd, from Proto-Germanic gudą, from Proto-Germanic gastiz, from Proto-Indo-European gʰóstis — Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.
goshawful (English): Euphemistic form of god-awful
Definitions
- Euphemistic form of god-awful
Ancestry of “goshawful”, step by step
goshawful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English gosh
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gosh | A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm as to... |
| 2 | English | God | A being such as a monotheistic God: a single... |
| 3 | Middle English | god | A god or deity; a divine individual; A person... |
| 4 | Old English | gōd | a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good,... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | gōd | good |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | gudą | invoked one; god, deity |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | gastiz | stranger, guest |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰóstis | stranger, host |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |
via English awful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | awful | Very bad; Exceedingly great; usually applied... |
| 2 | Middle English | agheful | awe-inspiring, wondrous; awful, horrible |
| 3 | Middle English | -ful | Appended to nouns to form adjectives denoting... |
| 4 | Old English | -ful | full of; -ful |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -fullaz | -ful |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fullaz | full; the whole, the entire |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pl̥h₁nós | full |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |