English

Noun

ghod ‎(plural ghods)

1. (dated, fandom slang, humorous) God.
   • 1952, Arthur Rapp, Lee Hoffman & Redd Boggs, Fanspeak, page 6:

     Fans usually spell it with a "h" when referring to fannish ghods.

   • 1966 November, Heap, Cindy, “"You Are Old, Father Tucker..."”, in Science-Fiction Five-Yearly, number 4, page 33:

     "As a youth," said the ghod as he shook his grey head, / "I feared it the BNF's grave; / But now that the neos all think that I'm dead, / I continue the fanac I crave."

   • 2006 February 19, lilysincere, “The Science Fiction That Wasn't”, in rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet, message-ID <1140421894.877343.245590@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>:

     I have not posted here before, but I have been in fandom before a long phase of gafia, and have read many books during my active times. I was a SMOF in the past, but not a super-Smof, and had my favorite authors. Harlan Ellison was like a ghod to me, and the lesser lights were those around me and some not what others may expect.

Usage notes

This fanspeak word is used instead of the standard form to indicate a fannish context or an association with science fiction fandom. Science fiction fandom included mock deities, or "fannish ghods", such as Ghu and Foo (the "ghod of mimeography").

References

• Jeff Prucher, editor (2007) Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-530567-8, page 79