Icelandic

Noun

goð n ‎(genitive singular goðs, nominative plural goð)

1. an idol, a pagan god

Declension

Derived terms

• eingyðistrú
• fjölgyðistrú
• goðafræði

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• guð ‎(“Christian God”)

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gudą ‎(“god”). Cognate with Old English god, Old Frisian god, Old Saxon god, Old Dutch got, Old High German got, Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐌸 ‎(guþ).
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutom ‎(“invoked”).

Pronunciation

• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡoːð/

Noun

goð n (genitive goðs, plural goð)

1. (Heathenry) a god, deity (specifically of the Norse pantheon, but also of any god)
   • Vǫluspá, verse 6, lines 3-4, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 2:

     […] ginnheilög goð, / ok um þat gættusk: […]

     […] most holy gods, / and held council: […]

2. (Christianity, especially in compounds) a heathen god, false god
   • Clemens saga 2, in 1874, C. R. Unger, Postola sögur: Legendariske fortællinger om apostlernes liv. Copenhagen, page 127:

     […] i musteri solar goþs, es Apollo heiter […]

     […] in the temple of the solar god, as Apollo is called […]

Declension

Related terms

Derived terms

Descendants

• Icelandic: goð n

References

• goð in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, R. Cleasby and G. Vigfússon, Clarendon Press, 1874, at Internet Archive.
• goð in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.