It’s just another French word we fucked up.
“fraud, deception, humbug”
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Sorry, you’ve misread the page, it’s actually claiming the exact opposite.
Etymology sections in dictionaries can be kind of confusingly phrased sometimes, so I’ll break it down:
also goddamn, late 14c.
This means that the phrase “God damn” has been around in the English language since the late 14th century.
from God + damn (v.).
This means the phrase actually is, straightforwardly, from the English words “God” and “damn”.
Goddam (Old French godon, 14c.) was said to have been a term of reproach applied to the English by the French.
This part is saying that Frenchmen supposedly corrupted the English phrase “God damn” into godon (and variants like goddam, goddem) as a derogatory term for Englishmen — apparently mocking Englishmen for being foul-mouthed or uncouth, i.e. that Englishmen say “God damn!” so often that it might as well be their name.
Hence French godan “fraud, deception, humbug” (17c.).
This is to say that that French-language derogatory term for Englishmen, about three hundred years after the phrase “God damn” first entered the English lexicon, came to take on a new meaning in French of “fraud, deception, humbug”.
Lmao, it’s the same as rosbif.
that makes more sense, thanks.
Honestly though the Joan of Arc quote on that page is hilarious to me:
Mais, fussent-ils cent mille Goddem de plus qu’a present, ils n’auront pas ce royaume.
[But even if the Goddams [i.e. Englishmen] numbered a hundred thousand more than at present, they will not have this kingdom.]I dunno, just something about putting corrupted English vulgarity in the middle of a French sentence tickles me.
I just hear the guitar brand Godin when I read Goddem. I’ve only heard the name pronouced once by someone French Canadian, they spell sounds all funny there.
Today you learned it wrong. Please update the post or delete it.
any suggestions on a title?
IDK, “TIL ‘god damn’ does actually refer to God.”? It doesn’t make for a very interesting post, though, because most people already think that.
I’m pretty sure that’s not even relevant, as the actual deeper meaning behind the religious dogma of using a gods name is to not use it to manipulate others, like for advertising, scams or politics.
Only the nitpickers care about casual use of the word “god”, as it’s not even the actual name. For example, the Christian gods name is YHWH or Jehovah. You don’t hear that casually. However one should have some respect for other peoples beliefs and therefore avoid any religious references, but that’s just a recommendation.
However one should have some respect for other peoples beliefs
And respect for those who don’t. If I get somehow caught up in a group prayer I am not going to complain about it but I sure as hell am not going to bow my head or take my hat off “out of respect”.
If you grew up in the south in the US, getting caught up in a prayer circle isn’t that uncommon.
