English
gad
Euphemistic alteration of God.
Another origin of gad
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gadden‘to hurry, to rush about’
- Englishtodaygad
Another origin of gad
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰedʰ-‘to join, unite’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gadô‘associate, partner, comrade, companion’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gadōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*gada‘fellow, companion, comrade, associate’reconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gade‘a fool, simpleton, rascal, scoundrel’
- Englishtodaygad
Another origin of gad
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gazdaz‘spike, rod, stake’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350gaddr‘goad, spike’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gad
- Englishtodaygad
Today it means
intj An exclamation roughly equivalent to by God, goodness gracious, for goodness' sake.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “gad”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / gad