Revised as of
22 Nov 2022
This is one of my pet peeves . . . I know, what a nitpicker! Yet, it is an issue and, in some respects, less than respectful to God — whichever one you believe in! (The same capitalization issues afflict Lord!)
God the Father is a “person”, which means it is a name, a proper noun. And, yes, in some cases, capitalizing the more generic god is appropriate IF the reference to god is a more direct reference to God, the Supreme Being, the particular deity whom you worship.
The word god, while a noun, is more general and can refer to a variety of gods. One good example is when referring to multiple gods such as the Greek or Roman gods, Indian gods, animalistic gods, Native American gods, etc. Using god in these cases is not singling out one particular being.
As with the controversy over “Lord versus lord“, I suspect religion is what causes most writers to capitalize god when a lowercase is more appropriate, so consider bookmarking this post as a reference for when you’re self-editing your work.
This confusion is more of a formatting issue as it is a question of whether to capitalize or not. You may want to explore the post on capitalizing honorifics for more examples.
The Evolution of Swearing
A fascinating side trip is an exploration on the evolution of swearing. Many of the words we commonly use as cuss words are variations on using God as it was considered a form of blasphemy to use God’s name to swear.
Gosh darn, gosh almighty, and omigosh are some of the euphemisms for God as in the gol’ in goldarn. It is thought that ‘struth evolved from by God’s truth while egad is a substitute for oh God. Geez is a substitute for Jesus, and as for heck, well, no one wanted to attract the denizens of Hell.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end. Consider sharing this Capitalization Confusion with friends by tweeting it.
| God | god |
|---|---|
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Stained Glass Fragment is GO69’s own work under the CC0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — God as depicted in stained glass. |
Wind Gods is courtesy of Shizhao and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Left: The Greek wind god, Hada, 2nd century, is a personal photograph from 2004. Musée Guimet in Paris. Middle: Wind god from Kizil, a Tarim Basin fresco, 7th century. Right: Japanese wind god Fujin, 17th century. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Proper noun
Plural: God |
Exclamation 1; Noun 1; Verb, transitive 2 Plural for the noun: gods Third person present verb: gods |
| Capitalization Issues | |
| Capitalize | lowercase |
| Referring to the actual Divine Being, the Creator, and the ruler of the universe
A supreme being in Christianity and other monotheistic religions and the source of all moral authority As a term of respect, any time you refer to a specific supreme being for any religion, i.e., Allah, Shiva, Buddha, etc.
[Christian Science] The incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit |
Exclamation: Give emphasis to a statement or declaration 1 Express range of emotions from surprise to anger to distress Noun:
Generic god or gods/goddesses, a superhuman being, or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes
[Informal] A very remote gallery of a theater far from the stage Verb, transitive:
|
| Examples: | |
| I don’t believe in God.
God is my Savior. There is no God but Allah. I believe in God the Father. Well, may God help you in this mess. God willing, you’ll get this done. |
Exclamation: God dammit! God bless you. Godspeed on your journey, Mary. Oh, for god’s sake! Thank god that’s over with! My god, why would you do that? Oh, god, don’t do that! God forbid you should ever help someone else. Noun: We’re sitting up in the gods for this performance. He has little time for the fashion victims for whom he is a god. Don’t make money your god. It’s in the lap of the gods now. He believes he’s an incarnation of the god Vishnu. He dialed the number and, the gods relenting, got through at once. Verb, transitive: I would have been godded about but I had to babysit. Did Mary god about last night? |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: godlike, godward Adverb: godward, godwards Noun: godhood, godship, nongod, semigod, subgod, undergod |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| The first known use was AD 53-54. |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for God versus god
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
“By God’s Bones: Medieval Swear Words.” Medievalists.net. 8 Nov 2013. Web. n.d. <http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/08/by-gods-bones-medieval-swear-words/> is a useful post on the binding nature of using God’s name from an historical perspective.
Davis, Dr. “Capitalizing God.” Teaching College English. 4 Feb 2004. Web. n.d. <http://www.teachingcollegeenglish.com/2004/04/capitalizing-god/>.
“English: God.” Verbix.com. n.d. Web. 22 Nov 2022. <https://verbix.com/webverbix/english/God>.
“God in Christianity.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Christianity>.
Merriam-Webster: god
Mohr, Melissa. Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing. Oxford University Press, 2013. <https://amzn.to/3BjlhfG>.
— — —. “The Modern History of Swearing: Where all the dirtiest words come from.” Salon.com. 11 May 2013. Web. n.d. <http://www.salon.com/2013/05/11/the_modern_history_of_swearing_where_all_the_dirtiest_words_come_from/> dives into Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing from a different angle.
Wellman, Jack. “Christian Swearing and Swear Words: A Lesson on Guarding Your Tongue.” What Christians Want to Know. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/christian-swearing-and-swear-words-a-lesson-on-guarding-your-tongue/>. This post approaches it from a particularly religious viewpoint.
Pinterest Photo Credits
The Creation of Adam (background removed) by Michelangelo is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and is Jörg Bittner Unna’s own photography under the CC BY 3.0 license while The Birth of Venus (cropped) by Sandro Botticelli is in the public domain; both are via Wikimedia Commons.
