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

  • Australia / New Zealand
  • Great Britain
  • South Africa

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. This is also due to the commandment against destroying paper on which God's name is written. With the advent of technology, Rabbis have debated whether typing "God" applies.

    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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