god

«god» in Mova's school dictionary: the name many religions, such as Christianity, Judaism… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a god, gods; God — a proper noun)

meaning for a pupil

1) God, with a capital G, is the name many religions, such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, give to the one being they believe made and rules the world. tree →

2) A god, with a small g, is a powerful being in myths and some religions, such as the Greek god Zeus or the Norse god Thor. tree →

3) Someone admired very much may be called a god in a joke. tree →

sense in the lessons

In religious education and history lessons, pupils learn that people of different faiths believe different things about God or gods, and that ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Vikings had many gods in their myths. In stories and myths, gods often have special powers and rule over things like the sea, thunder or the sun. «Oh my God» is an exclamation some people find rude, so many say «oh my gosh». Phrases: thank God, god of the sea, Greek gods.

examples

• Many people pray to God at church, at the mosque or at the synagogue. tree →
• Zeus was the king of the Greek gods. tree →
• Thor was the Norse god of thunder. tree →
• The ancient Egyptians had a sun god called Ra. tree →
• In our myths topic we wrote a story about a god of the sea. tree →
• Some people believe in God and some people do not, and we respect both. tree →
• Poseidon, the god of the sea, could make storms with his trident. tree →

note

Capital G when it is the name of the one God of a religion; small g for gods in myths. A female god is a «goddess». Saying «oh my God» can upset religious people; «oh my gosh» is the polite form. Respect different beliefs: what people believe about God is a matter of faith, not something to argue about at school.

In the corpora

• "God rest him.
• "Gone to meet his maker" means died; "his maker" is God, and the phrase is often used jokingly.
• "Called home" means died; it is used in American religious talk, meaning called home to God.
• "The man upstairs" means God.
• "The big guy upstairs" (US, humorous) means God.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «god» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.