Etymograph

English

good

Good comes from Old English gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz ‘good’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- ‘to unite, be associated, suit, fit’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰedʰ-1‘to unite, be associated, suit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdaz1‘good’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gōd1‘good’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150gōd1‘good’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500good1
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592good1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English good
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “[I]f thou ask me why, / Sufficeth my reaſons…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰedʰ-Wiktionary, English good‘to unite, be associated, suit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdazWiktionary, English good‘good’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gōdWiktionary, English good‘good’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150gōdWiktionary, English good‘good’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500goodWiktionary, English good
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592goodWiktionary, English good. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “[I]f thou ask me why, / Sufficeth my reaſons…”

The story

Eclipsed non-native Middle English bon, bone, boon, boun (‘good’) borrowed from Old French bon (‘good’), from Latin bonus (‘good’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- ‘to unite, be associated, suit, fit’

together, gather, gad, bettering, 5 more

through Proto-Germanic *gōdaz

best, better, 4 more

through Old English gōd

god, 3 more

Another origin of good

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500goode‘good, well’
  2. Englishtodaygood

Another origin of good

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰedʰ-‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdą‘goods, belongings’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150gōd‘a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500good
  5. Englishtodaygood

Another origin of good

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰedʰ-‘to unite, be associated, suit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdaz‘good, favorable’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gōdōn‘to make better, improve’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150gōdian‘to improve, get better’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500goden
  6. Englishtodaygood

Another origin of good

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*godenreconstructed
  2. Englishtodaygood

Today it means

adj Of a person or an animal: Acting in the interest of what is beneficial, ethical, or moral.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- / good

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