Etymology

Godwin

G2O1D2W4I1N1

Today it means: An inappropriate mention of the Nazis or Adolf Hitler in a discussion. Full definition →

Old English wine
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The story

  1. Old English · derived fromwine“friend”
  2. English todayGodwin

From Old English Godwine (“God's friend”). The component -win is from Old English wine (“friend”). The second meaning is named after Michael Wayne Godwin (born 1956), American attorney and author.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.