"G" Word Origins

Gogol

Origin

From Ukrainian гоголь (hóholʹ), a word for the common goldeneye duck.

Goguryeo

Korean

From the Korean 고구려 (Goguryeo).

GoH

Origin

An initialism of "guest of honour."

going

Old English

The -ing form of "go," used as a noun and adjective since Old English times.

Golan

Hebrew

Borrowed from Hebrew גּוֹלָן (golán).

gold

Old English

From Old English gold, tracing back to a very old Indo-European root also connected to the word "yellow."

gold digger

English

A compound of gold and digger; the figurative sense of someone digging for another person's money grew out of the literal prospecting sense.

Goldberg

German · 1800

From German Gold ("gold") and Berg ("mountain"); one of the ornamental surnames Jews were required to adopt in 18th- and 19th-century Germany.

goldbrick

Origin

From gold + brick, originally (1850s) an actual gold ingot or brick, later a swindle that consisted of selling a putative gold brick, which was only coated in gold. The swindle is attested from 1879, the sense “to swindle” is attested 1902, and the sense “to shirk” is attested 1914, popularized as World War I armed forces slang. In early 1900s, used to refer to an unattractive young woman – not pretty, nor able to talk or dance (attested 1903), thence to refer to incompetent enlisted troops at the start of World War I, reinforced by the rank insignia of second lieutenants, which was a gold rectangle.

golden

Old English

From Old English gylden, built from "gold" plus the adjective ending "-en," the same pattern seen in "wooden" or "silken."

goldeneye

Origin

From golden + eye.

Goldfarb

German

Borrowed from German Goldfarb.

Goldfish

Origin

A straightforward compound of "gold" (its colour) and "fish," dating back centuries to when the species was bred in China.

Goldie

Origin

From gold plus the affectionate suffix "-ie," the same pattern that turns Rob into Robbie.

goldilocks

Origin

From the fairy tale character Goldilocks, the golden-haired girl who breaks into the three bears' house and finds one bowl of porridge too hot, one too cold, and one "just right."

Golding

Origin · 1580

Formed from gold plus "-ing," first recorded around 1580, likely describing the golden color of the hop cones or apples.

goldsmith

Old English

A very old compound of "gold" and "smith" (a metalworker), traceable back to Old English goldsmiþ.

goldsmithing

Origin

From gold + smithing.

Goldstein

German

From German Gold ("gold") and Stein ("stone"), one of the ornamental surnames chosen by German Jews.

goldworker

Origin

From gold + worker.

goldwyn

Origin

From Middle English Goldwyn, Goldwine, from Old English Goldwine (given name), from gold (“gold”) + wine (“friend”).

golem

Hebrew

Borrowed from Hebrew golem, referring to an unformed or unfinished mass — the raw material before it becomes a living being.

golf

Dutch

First recorded in English from Scots golf/gouff; likely traces further back to a Middle Dutch word for "club."

golfer

Origin

"Golf" plus the agent suffix "-er," the same pattern as "runner" or "painter."

golgotha

Origin

* From the Ancient Greek Γολγοθᾶ (Golgothâ) from the Aramaic גּוּלְגּוּלְתָּא (gulgultā). * (rooms of the heads of the colleges; a hat): Punning on "the place of the skulls/heads".

Goliath

Hebrew

From the Hebrew name Golyat, borne by the biblical giant defeated by David.

Gollum

Origin

From Gollum, the tormented creature in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth stories, originally called Sméagol before the name changed to describe the strange swallowing noise he made.

golly

Origin · 1700

An 18th-century softened stand-in for "God," likely shortened from an oath like "God's body."

golok

Origin

From Malay golok.

gomer

French

Origin debated; possibly linked to the artillery term "gomer" (a chamber shape in old cannons, named after French officer Louis-Gabriel de Gomer) or to the bumbling TV character Gomer Pyle.

Gomez

Spanish

From Spanish Gómez.

Gomorrah

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Gómorrha, itself from the Hebrew Bible's ʿămōrā.

gon

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek gōnía, meaning "angle."

gondola

Italian

Borrowed from Italian gondola, via the Venetian dialect, possibly ultimately from a Byzantine Greek word for a type of small ship.

gone

Old English

The past participle of "go," tracing back through Middle and Old English to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to go."

goner

Origin · 1850

Formed from "gone" plus the agent suffix "-er"; first recorded around 1850.

gong

Malay

Borrowed from Malay gong, likely imitative of the sound itself.

gonghouse

Origin

gong (“outhouse; excrement”) + house

gonk

Origin

A proprietary name of arbitrary formation.

gonna

Origin · 1900

A casual contraction of "going to," attested since the early 20th century, reflecting the common dropping of the "g" sound in relaxed speech.

gonorrhea

Ancient Greek

From Late Latin gonorrhoea, from Ancient Greek roots meaning "seed" and "flow" — an old (inaccurate) theory about the discharge symptom.

Gonzalez

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish González, meaning "son of Gonzalo."

Gonzalo

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Gonzalo.

gonzo

Italian · 1971

Coined in 1971 by Boston Globe editor Bill Cardoso, possibly influenced by Italian gonzo ("fool") or Spanish ganso ("goose, fool").

goo

Origin · 1900

American English, attested since the early 1900s, possibly from "burgoo" (a thick porridge) or as an alteration of "glue."

goober

Origin

Reached English via Gullah from the Kongo word nguba, meaning "peanut."

gooch

Origin

A corrupted form of "guiche," another slang term for the same body part.

good

Old English

From Old English gōd, going back to a Proto-Germanic root related to the idea of fitting or suiting well — despite appearances, it is not related to the word "God."