good

good · adjective, interjection¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*gʰedʰ-
2. Proto-Germanic*gadanąvṛd.
3. Proto-Germanic*gōdaz
4. Proto-West Germanic*gōd
5. Old Englishgōd
6. Middle Englishgood
7. English todaygood

Inherited from Middle English good, from Old English gōd, from Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit, fit”). Related to gather and together, but not to god/God. Eclipsed non-native Middle English bon, bone, boon, boun (“good”) borrowed from Old French bon (“good”), from Latin bonus (“good”). Cognates Cognate with Scots gude, guid (“good”), Yola gayde, gooude, gude (“good”), North Frisian goud, gud, guid, gur, gödj, gööd (“good”), Saterland Frisian goud (“good”), West Frisian goed (“good”), Alemannic German guet (“good”), Bavarian guad (“good”), Central Franconian gut, jot, jott (“good”), Cimbrian guat, guut (“good”), Dutch goed (“good”), Dutch Low Saxon good (“good”), German gut (“good”), Limburgish good, gott (“good”), Low German god, goot, got, gued (“good”), Luxembourgish gutt (“good”), Mòcheno guat (“good”), Vilamovian güt (“good”), Yiddish גוט (gut, “good”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish god (“good”), Elfdalian guoð (“good”), Faroese and Icelandic góður (“good”), Gothic 𐌲𐍉𐌸𐍃 (gōþs, “good”), Vandalic *guths (“good”); also Albanian nge (“chance, leisure, opportunity, time”), Latvian gods (“honor”), Lithuanian guõdas (“nobleness, virtue; glory, honour”), Belarusian го́дны (hódny, “worthy”), Bulgarian го́ден (góden, “fit, suitable”), Czech hodný (“good, kind”), Polish godny, godzien (“dignified, worthy”), Russian го́дный (gódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”), Ukrainian гі́дний (hídnyj, “deserving, worthy”), го́дний (hódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”).

good · adverb²

1. Middle English · inherited fromgoode“good, well”
2. English todaygood

Inherited from Middle English goode (“good, well”, adverb), from the adjective. Compare Dutch goed (“good, well”, adverb), German gut (“good, well”, adverb), Danish godt (“good, well”, adverb), Swedish gott (“good, well”, adverb), all from the adjective.

good · noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gʰedʰ-
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*gōdą“goods, belongings”
3. Old English · inherited fromgōd“a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good, goodness, welfare; virtue, ability, doughtiness; goods, property, wealth”
4. Middle English · inherited fromgood
5. English todaygood

Inherited from Middle English good, god, from Old English gōd (“a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good, goodness, welfare; virtue, ability, doughtiness; goods, property, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *gōdą (“goods, belongings”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-, *gʰodʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit”). Compare German Gut (“item of merchandise; estate; property”).

good · verb⁴

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*gōdaz“good, favorable”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*gōdōn“to make better, improve”
3. Old English · inherited fromgōdian“to improve, get better; make better; endow, enrich”
4. Middle English · inherited fromgoden
5. English todaygood

Inherited from Middle English goden, godien, from Old English gōdian (“to improve, get better; make better; endow, enrich”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōdōn (“to make better, improve”), from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz (“good, favorable”).

good · verb⁵

1. Middle English · inherited from*goden
2. English todaygood

From English dialectal, from Middle English *goden, of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish göda (“to fatten, fertilise, battle”), Danish gøde (“to fertilise, battle”), ultimately from the adjective. See above.

good · adjective⁶

Coined in reference to the phrase the only good nigger is a dead nigger, a popular saying among white supremacists.

Good · proper noun⁷

* As an English surname, from the adjective good. * Also as an English surname, from the personal name Gōde, which represents the first part of names such as Godfrey, Gottfried, etc. * As a German surname, Americanized from Gut, Guth. * As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Goed, Goede.

Good · proper noun⁸

1. Ancient Greek · calque ofἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέα
2. English todayGood

Ellipsis of the form of the Good, a calque of Ancient Greek ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέα (hē toû agathoû idéa), a concept used in Plato's Republic.

Words from the same roots