Where does “god” come from?

god (Old High German) comes from Old High German got, from Proto-West Germanic gōd, from Proto-Germanic gudą, from Proto-Germanic gastiz, from Proto-Indo-European gʰóstis, from Proto-Indo-European -tis — Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.

Ancestry of “god”, step by step

god traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old High German got

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germangotgod
2Proto-West Germanicgōdgood
3Proto-Germanicgudąinvoked one; god, deity
4Proto-Germanicgastizstranger, guest
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʰóstisstranger, host
6Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots

via Old High German cot

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germancot—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰóstis →Every word from Proto-Germanic gastiz →