gosh

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɡɒʃ/, US /ɡɑːʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is an altered pronunciation and spelling of God, a euphemism used in oaths,^[2][3][4][5] probably developed from by gosse,^[2][3] which is in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister (before 1553).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mild oath or exclamation, at first in the phrase by gosh: 1757.^[2][6][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline compares losh, an 18th-century exclamation of surprise that the Century Dictionary called a distortion of Lord.^[3] The OED also records goshawful.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1553 – by gosse.^[2]
• 1757 – gosh.^[2][6]

Modern meaning

Interjection

1. An exclamation of mild surprise, wonder or delight.

Related words

• golly
• gee
• god

Usage notes

The EDD records gosh in oaths in Scotland and many English counties, as well as in America.^[7]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)