Etymograph

English

Godfrey

Godfrey comes from Old French Godefrei, from Old High German Godafrid ‘peace of God’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preyH-‘to please’root as named
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*Gudafriþuzreconstructed
  3. Old High Germanc. 750–1050Godafrid‘peace of God’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400Godefrei
  5. EnglishtodayGodfrey

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preyH-‘to please’root as named
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*Gudafriþuzreconstructed
  3. Old High Germanc. 750–1050Godafrid‘peace of God’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400Godefrei
  5. EnglishtodayGodfrey

A compound of god + frith

Proto-Germanic *gudą ‘god, deity’

Proto-West Germanic *god ‘god, deity’

Old English god ‘god’

Middle English god

English god

Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ- ‘oak’

…

Proto-West Germanic *furhu ‘fir’

Proto-West Germanic *furhiþi ‘forest, woodland’

Old English fyrhþe ‘forest, wooded country’

Middle English frith ‘forest, woodland’

English frith

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’

friend, property, free, improper, fray, propriety, frith, 7 more

Today it means

name A male given name from the Germanic languages.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preyH- / Godfrey

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