English
Godzilla
Godzilla comes from Japanese ゴリラ ‘gorilla’, and goes back to English gorilla.
- English1500–presentgorilla
- Japanesemodernゴリラgorira‘gorilla’
- Japanese, derivedmodernゴジラGojira
- Englishearliest quotation 2009Godzilla
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- English1500–presentgorilla
- Japanesemodernゴリラgorira‘gorilla’
- Japanese, derivedmodernゴジラGojira
- Englishearliest quotation 2009Godzilla
Earliest quotation: 2009, P. J. O'Rourke, Peace Kills: “Aren't we supposed to be a big, terrifying country,…”
Every English word from English gorilla
Today it means
name A fictional Japanese monster (kaiju) from a series of science-fiction films.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / English gorilla / Godzilla