G-d

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Pronunciations

G-d (GEE dash DEE) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The way that some religious Jews write God, to avoid writing the full word.

Example Sentences

  • "Moses received the Torah from G-d at Sinai."

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Languages of Origin

  • English

Who Uses This

  • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
  • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

Regions

  • Great Britain
  • South Africa
  • Australia / New Zealand

Dictionaries

  • None

Notes

  • It is forbidden in Jewish law to take God's name in vain. Specifically, that refers to God's four letter name (the tetragrammaton), but some Jews as a stringency avoid writing in English "God" to make extra sure they aren't taking God's name in vain. The same practice applies in Modern Hebrew and other Jewish languages, although the particular substitutions (dashes, apostrophes, the letter daled instead of hey) can vary. ג-ט g-t (for גאָט got 'God') has been encountered in Yiddish.

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