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God
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "god"
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Etymology tree
Derived from Middle English God. See god.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
God (usually uncountable, plural Gods)
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Usage notes
The word "God" is capitalized in reference to the Abrahamic deity of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths almost without exception, even when preceded by various qualifiers.[1] The term is frequently, but not always, capitalized in vaguer deistic references to a single deity as well. It's also capitalized in Sikhism.
Monotheistic Gods are traditionally referenced in English with masculine pronouns and (when depicted) anthropomorphized in the form of adult men, but also traditionally held by theologians to be beyond human sex or gender. Like other languages employing Latin script, English pronouns referring to a God traditionally begin with a capital letter as a sign of respect: He, Him, His, and Himself in the third person and Thee, Thy, Thine, Thyself or You, Your, and Yourself in direct address. However, this use is not universal and the King James Version of the Bible, as well as other modern translations, employ standard uncapitalized pronouns.[2] See also: LORD.
Some Jews consider the English word "God" to fall under the Hebrew khumra concerning the avoidance of blasphemy, preferring to use the form G-d or alternatives such as Hashem, Lord, etc.
According to Trinitarian branches of Christianity (e.g., Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, most Protestant denominations), God and the Holy Trinity are one and the same, with three distinct persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all God, but none of the three are one or both of the other persons.
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