English word origin

Etymology of OMG

An abbreviation of oh my God, although sometimes glossed using minced oaths to avoid offense. In its first attestation, also intended as a punning reference to the Order of St Michael and St George.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

intj

An exclamation of excitement, surprise, shock etc.; oh my God

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

An abbreviation of oh my God, although sometimes glossed using minced oaths to avoid offense. In its first attestation, also intended as a punning reference to the Order of St Michael and St George.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "links": [
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      "oh my God#English"
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    [
      "minced oath",
      "minced oath"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "An exclamation of excitement, surprise, shock etc.; oh my God"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Internet"
      ],
      "recordId": "7db9836f2f8821534090c5404f7b50e1dde3cddd5735c94c9852cf534fd45878",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e858fe94254416f7fd66426561de02d44e89e5d08374b1fccf43fb8bd80652d5",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for OMG →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-T01H