Etymology

godmother

god·mother
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Today it means: A woman present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a female godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child. Full definition →

Middle English godmoder ← Old English godmōdor
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromgodmōdor“godmother”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromgodmoder
  3. English todaygodmother

From Middle English godmoder, from Old English godmōdor (“godmother”), equivalent to god- + mother. Cognate with Old High German gotmuoter (“godmother”), Old Norse guðmóðir (“godmother”), Icelandic guðmóður (“godmother”), Swedish gudmoder (“godmother”), Danish gudmor (“godmother”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.