*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of godly

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós? Proto-Germanic *gudą Proto-West Germanic *god Old English god Middle English god English god Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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 ↗
adj

Of or pertaining to a god. · Devoted to a god or God; devout; holy; righteous. · Gloriously good.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós? Proto-Germanic *gudą Proto-West Germanic *god Old English god Middle English god English god Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-West Germanic *-līk Old English -līċ Middle English -ly English -ly English godly From god + -ly (adjectival suffix).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "god",
        "4": "-ly<pos:adjectival suffix><id:adjectival>",
        "id": "godlike",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós?\nProto-Germanic *gudą\nProto-West Germanic *god\nOld English god\nMiddle English god\nEnglish god\nProto-Indo-European *leyg-der.\nProto-Germanic *līkąder.\nProto-Germanic *-līkaz\nProto-West Germanic *-līk\nOld English -līċ\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish godly\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*gudą\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*god\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"god\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"god\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"god\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"id\" : \"adjectival\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjectival\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"like\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*leyg-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*līką\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līkaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līk\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"-līċ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-ly\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ly\", \"lang\" : \"en\", \"pos\" : \"adjectival suffix\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"godly\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"godlike\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"godly\" id=\"English:_godlike\">\nFrom god + -ly (adjectival suffix)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "god",
        "4": "-ly<pos:adjectival suffix><id:adjectival>",
        "id": "godlike",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós?\nProto-Germanic *gudą\nProto-West Germanic *god\nOld English god\nMiddle English god\nEnglish god\nProto-Indo-European *leyg-der.\nProto-Germanic *līkąder.\nProto-Germanic *-līkaz\nProto-West Germanic *-līk\nOld English -līċ\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish godly\nFrom god + -ly (adjectival suffix)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*ǵʰew-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰew-#Proto-Indo-European:_pour"
    ],
    [
      "*-tós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tós#Proto-Indo-European:_verbal_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵʰutós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰutós#Proto-Indo-European:_invoked"
    ],
    [
      "*gudą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gudą#Proto-Germanic:_deity"
    ],
    [
      "*god",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/god#Proto-West_Germanic:_deity"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#Old_English:_deity"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#English"
    ],
    [
      "*leyg-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/leyg-#Proto-Indo-European:_like"
    ],
    [
      "*līką",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/līką"
    ],
    [
      "*-līkaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-līkaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-līk",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-līk"
    ],
    [
      "-līċ",
      "-lic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ly",
      "-ly#Middle_English:_adjectival"
    ],
    [
      "-ly",
      "-ly#English:_adjectival"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ly",
      "-ly#English:_adjectival"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of or pertaining to a god.",
        "Devoted to a god or God; devout; holy; righteous.",
        "Gloriously good."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "b7af9d037144f70c9c72cf3faaf6d1e7aa876f97f32b3a89af02c5277a193ba1",
      "rawRecordSha256": "70d8b6e7dd1e1553d5c0369e00a0678bc099fcabdab3e51d41083a0968ab1143",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 189980
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adv

In a godly manner; piously; devoutly; righteously.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós? Proto-Germanic *gudą Proto-West Germanic *god Old English god Middle English god English god Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English godly From god + -ly (adverbial suffix).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "god",
        "4": "-ly<pos:adverbial suffix><id:adverbial>",
        "id": "piously",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós?\nProto-Germanic *gudą\nProto-West Germanic *god\nOld English god\nMiddle English god\nEnglish god\nProto-Indo-European *leyg-der.\nProto-Germanic *līkąder.\nProto-Germanic *-līkaz\nProto-Germanic *-ê\nProto-Germanic *-līkê\nProto-West Germanic *-līkē\nOld English -līċe\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish godly\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*gudą\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*god\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"god\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"god\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"god\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"id\" : \"adverbial\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adverbial\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"like\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*leyg-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*līką\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līkaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ê\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līkê\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līkē\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"gem-pro\", \"2\" : \":der\", \"3\" : \"*līką\", \"id\" : \"-like\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līkaz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līk\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"-līċ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" }, { \"id\" : \"adverbial\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-ā\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ê\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"-e\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"afeq\", \"is_invisible\" : \"all\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"-līċe\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-ly\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ly\", \"lang\" : \"en\", \"pos\" : \"adverbial suffix\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"godly\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"piously\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"godly\" id=\"English:_piously\">\nFrom god + -ly (adverbial suffix)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "god",
        "4": "-ly<pos:adverbial suffix><id:adverbial>",
        "id": "piously",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós?\nProto-Germanic *gudą\nProto-West Germanic *god\nOld English god\nMiddle English god\nEnglish god\nProto-Indo-European *leyg-der.\nProto-Germanic *līkąder.\nProto-Germanic *-līkaz\nProto-Germanic *-ê\nProto-Germanic *-līkê\nProto-West Germanic *-līkē\nOld English -līċe\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish godly\nFrom god + -ly (adverbial suffix)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*ǵʰew-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰew-#Proto-Indo-European:_pour"
    ],
    [
      "*-tós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tós#Proto-Indo-European:_verbal_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵʰutós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰutós#Proto-Indo-European:_invoked"
    ],
    [
      "*gudą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gudą#Proto-Germanic:_deity"
    ],
    [
      "*god",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/god#Proto-West_Germanic:_deity"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#Old_English:_deity"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#English"
    ],
    [
      "*leyg-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/leyg-#Proto-Indo-European:_like"
    ],
    [
      "*līką",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/līką"
    ],
    [
      "*-līkaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-līkaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-ê",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ê"
    ],
    [
      "*-līkê",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-līkê"
    ],
    [
      "*-līkē",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-līkē"
    ],
    [
      "-līċe",
      "-lice#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ly",
      "-ly#Middle_English:_adverbial"
    ],
    [
      "-ly",
      "-ly#English:_adverbial"
    ],
    [
      "god",
      "god#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ly",
      "-ly#English:_adverbial"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "In a godly manner; piously; devoutly; righteously."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "b54ff3316b8364b60b8d60b56442f14433104e51770493f11e4b72f2ea75d171",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e4faf39a8e3776ea93dd7eb9a7e822d78750dfa3dce7d20d0c8f59dba257f58d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 189981
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "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 godly →

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-Z29kbHk