"by God" meaning in English

See by God in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Etymology: Ellipsis of a full oath of the form "I swear by God that…" Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} by God (not comparable)
  1. (informal, mildly blasphemous) Genuine, actual. Tags: informal, not-comparable
    Sense id: en-by_God-en-adj-PPFUkU9D Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English intensifiers, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Azerbaijani translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Galician translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Persian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Punjabi translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swahili translations, Terms with Urdu translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 50 25 16 9 Disambiguation of English intensifiers: 45 8 40 7 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 59 13 13 15 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 59 10 19 11 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 77 8 7 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 68 12 10 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Azerbaijani translations: 67 12 10 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 67 12 10 11 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 67 11 11 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Galician translations: 67 12 10 11 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 71 11 10 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 67 11 12 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 75 10 7 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 69 13 11 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Persian translations: 67 12 10 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 63 13 12 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Punjabi translations: 67 12 10 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 75 10 7 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 79 8 6 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Swahili translations: 71 14 7 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Urdu translations: 70 14 10 7

Adverb

Etymology: Ellipsis of a full oath of the form "I swear by God that…" Head templates: {{en-adv|-}} by God (not comparable)
  1. Used as an oath to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement. Tags: not-comparable Translations (oath): وَاللّٰه (wa-llāh) (Arabic), Jumalan kautta (Finnish), Jumalan nimeen (Finnish), pardieu (French), por Deus (Galician), par Deus (Galician), μα το Θεό (ma to Theó) (Greek), μα τω θεώ (ma to theó) (Greek), وَاللّٰه (vallâh) (Persian), ей-бо́гу (jej-bógu) (Russian), por Dios (Spanish), wallahi (Swahili), وَاللّٰہ (vāllāh) (Urdu), قسمے (qasmē) (Western Panjabi), قسمِ خدا (qasam-e-xudā) (Western Panjabi)
    Sense id: en-by_God-en-adv-nKhaQZ9s Categories (other): English oaths Disambiguation of English oaths: 12 56 15 18 Disambiguation of 'oath': 90 10
  2. Used as an intensifier. Tags: not-comparable Translations (intensifier): vallah (Azerbaijani), ətağa [slang] (Azerbaijani), Quran haqqı (Azerbaijani), Allaha and olsun (Azerbaijani), var-yoxuna nəhlət (Azerbaijani), totisesti (Finnish), por Deus (Galician), na Boga (Polish)
    Sense id: en-by_God-en-adv-MyGozmhg Categories (other): English intensifiers Disambiguation of English intensifiers: 45 8 40 7 Disambiguation of 'intensifier': 4 96

Interjection

Etymology: Ellipsis of a full oath of the form "I swear by God that…" Head templates: {{en-interj}} by God
  1. An exclamation of surprise. Synonyms: wow Translations (surprise): وَاللّٰه (wa-llāh) (Arabic), 我的天啊 (wǒ de tiān a) (Chinese Mandarin), 上帝 (Shàngdì) (Chinese Mandarin), 天啊 (tiān a) (Chinese Mandarin), hyvänen aika (Finnish), pardieu (French), mon Dieu (French), meu Deus (Galician), par Deus (Galician), mein Gott (German), Θεέ μου (Theé mou) (Greek), μνήστιτι μου κύριε (mnístiti mou kýrie) (Greek), なんてこった (nante kotta) (Japanese), وَاللّٰه (vallâh) (Persian), бо́же мой (bóže moj) (Russian), por Dios (Spanish), rediós (Spanish), وَاللّٰہ (vāllāh) (Urdu)
    Sense id: en-by_God-en-intj-3o-iLYuU

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_text": "Ellipsis of a full oath of the form \"I swear by God that…\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "by God (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "12 56 15 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English oaths",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter VII, in Mansfield Park: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 150:",
          "text": "I should not wonder if you had your orders to-morrow; but you cannot sail with this wind, if you are to cruize to the westward; Captain Walsh thinks you will certainly have a cruize to the westward, with the Elephant. By G⁠—, I wish you may.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Cassandra King, Queen of Broken Hearts:",
          "text": "With a frown, Rye studies my face. He disengages my arm in order to take my hand in both of his and squeeze it tight. \"Why don't you go back and confront him, sweetheart? I'll go with you, by God. I don't like the idea of him bullying you, and he needs to hear that.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used as an oath to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement."
      ],
      "id": "en-by_God-en-adv-nKhaQZ9s",
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "wa-llāh",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "وَاللّٰه"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "Jumalan kautta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "Jumalan nimeen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "pardieu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "por Deus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "par Deus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ma to Theó",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "μα το Θεό"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ma to theó",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "μα τω θεώ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "vallâh",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "وَاللّٰه"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "pnb",
          "lang": "Western Panjabi",
          "roman": "qasmē",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "قسمے"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "pnb",
          "lang": "Western Panjabi",
          "roman": "qasam-e-xudā",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "قسمِ خدا"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "jej-bógu",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "ей-бо́гу"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "por Dios"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "sw",
          "lang": "Swahili",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "wallahi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "ur",
          "lang": "Urdu",
          "roman": "vāllāh",
          "sense": "oath",
          "word": "وَاللّٰہ"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "45 8 40 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English intensifiers",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1991 November 20, Paul Hendrickson, “Echoes Of the Day of Infamy”, in Washington Post:",
          "text": "I saw that map and I said right then, 'Someday I'm going to make a map of how it was that day, make a drawing of Pearl Harbor, and I'll make it right.' And I did, by God.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used as an intensifier."
      ],
      "id": "en-by_God-en-adv-MyGozmhg",
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "word": "vallah"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "tags": [
            "slang"
          ],
          "word": "ətağa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "word": "Quran haqqı"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "word": "Allaha and olsun"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "word": "var-yoxuna nəhlət"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "word": "totisesti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "word": "por Deus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "intensifier",
          "word": "na Boga"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "by God"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Ellipsis of a full oath of the form \"I swear by God that…\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "by God (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 25 16 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 8 40 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English intensifiers",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "59 13 13 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "59 10 19 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 8 7 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "68 12 10 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Arabic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 12 10 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Azerbaijani translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 12 10 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 11 11 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 12 10 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Galician translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "71 11 10 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 11 12 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "75 10 7 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "69 13 11 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 12 10 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Persian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "63 13 12 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 12 10 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Punjabi translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "75 10 7 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 8 6 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "71 14 7 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swahili translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "70 14 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Urdu translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1973, Cormac McCarthy, Child of God, page 81:",
          "text": "I’ll tell you one thing he was if he wasn’t no soldier. He was a by god White Cap.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1995, Benjamin Bradlee, A Good Life, page 198:",
          "text": "Fleeson was known as “God’s angry woman,” and she called herself a “by God practicing liberal.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Genuine, actual."
      ],
      "id": "en-by_God-en-adj-PPFUkU9D",
      "links": [
        [
          "Genuine",
          "genuine"
        ],
        [
          "actual",
          "actual"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "mildly blasphemous",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, mildly blasphemous) Genuine, actual."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "by God"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Ellipsis of a full oath of the form \"I swear by God that…\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "by God",
      "name": "en-interj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "intj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "By God! That chicken has no head!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1822 May 29, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in The Fortunes of Nigel. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 85:",
          "text": "[…] having made a cross cut, so as to ascertain the depth of the fat upon the chest, exclaimed, in a sort of rapture, “Three inches of white fat on the brisket!—prime—prime, as I am a crowded sinner—and de’il ane o’ the lazy loons in but mysell! Seven—aught—aught tines on the antlers. By G⁠—⁠d, a hart of aught tines, and the first of the season![…]”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An exclamation of surprise."
      ],
      "id": "en-by_God-en-intj-3o-iLYuU",
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wow"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "wa-llāh",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "وَاللّٰه"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "wǒ de tiān a",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "我的天啊"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "Shàngdì",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "上帝"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "tiān a",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "天啊"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "hyvänen aika"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "pardieu"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "mon Dieu"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "meu Deus"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "par Deus"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "mein Gott"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "Theé mou",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "Θεέ μου"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "mnístiti mou kýrie",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "μνήστιτι μου κύριε"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "nante kotta",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "なんてこった"
        },
        {
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "vallâh",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "وَاللّٰه"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "bóže moj",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "бо́же мой"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "por Dios"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "rediós"
        },
        {
          "code": "ur",
          "lang": "Urdu",
          "roman": "vāllāh",
          "sense": "surprise",
          "word": "وَاللّٰہ"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "by God"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English adverbs",
    "English ellipses",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English intensifiers",
    "English interjections",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English oaths",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Azerbaijani translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Persian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Punjabi translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swahili translations",
    "Terms with Urdu translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Ellipsis of a full oath of the form \"I swear by God that…\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "by God (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter VII, in Mansfield Park: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 150:",
          "text": "I should not wonder if you had your orders to-morrow; but you cannot sail with this wind, if you are to cruize to the westward; Captain Walsh thinks you will certainly have a cruize to the westward, with the Elephant. By G⁠—, I wish you may.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Cassandra King, Queen of Broken Hearts:",
          "text": "With a frown, Rye studies my face. He disengages my arm in order to take my hand in both of his and squeeze it tight. \"Why don't you go back and confront him, sweetheart? I'll go with you, by God. I don't like the idea of him bullying you, and he needs to hear that.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used as an oath to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1991 November 20, Paul Hendrickson, “Echoes Of the Day of Infamy”, in Washington Post:",
          "text": "I saw that map and I said right then, 'Someday I'm going to make a map of how it was that day, make a drawing of Pearl Harbor, and I'll make it right.' And I did, by God.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used as an intensifier."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "wa-llāh",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "وَاللّٰه"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "Jumalan kautta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "Jumalan nimeen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "pardieu"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "por Deus"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "par Deus"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ma to Theó",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "μα το Θεό"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ma to theó",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "μα τω θεώ"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "vallâh",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "وَاللّٰه"
    },
    {
      "code": "pnb",
      "lang": "Western Panjabi",
      "roman": "qasmē",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "قسمے"
    },
    {
      "code": "pnb",
      "lang": "Western Panjabi",
      "roman": "qasam-e-xudā",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "قسمِ خدا"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "jej-bógu",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "ей-бо́гу"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "por Dios"
    },
    {
      "code": "sw",
      "lang": "Swahili",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "wallahi"
    },
    {
      "code": "ur",
      "lang": "Urdu",
      "roman": "vāllāh",
      "sense": "oath",
      "word": "وَاللّٰہ"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "word": "vallah"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "word": "ətağa"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "word": "Quran haqqı"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "word": "Allaha and olsun"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "word": "var-yoxuna nəhlət"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "word": "totisesti"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "word": "por Deus"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "intensifier",
      "word": "na Boga"
    }
  ],
  "word": "by God"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English adverbs",
    "English ellipses",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English intensifiers",
    "English interjections",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English oaths",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Azerbaijani translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Persian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Punjabi translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swahili translations",
    "Terms with Urdu translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Ellipsis of a full oath of the form \"I swear by God that…\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "by God (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1973, Cormac McCarthy, Child of God, page 81:",
          "text": "I’ll tell you one thing he was if he wasn’t no soldier. He was a by god White Cap.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1995, Benjamin Bradlee, A Good Life, page 198:",
          "text": "Fleeson was known as “God’s angry woman,” and she called herself a “by God practicing liberal.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Genuine, actual."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Genuine",
          "genuine"
        ],
        [
          "actual",
          "actual"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "mildly blasphemous",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, mildly blasphemous) Genuine, actual."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "by God"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English adverbs",
    "English ellipses",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English intensifiers",
    "English interjections",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English oaths",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Azerbaijani translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Persian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Punjabi translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swahili translations",
    "Terms with Urdu translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Ellipsis of a full oath of the form \"I swear by God that…\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "by God",
      "name": "en-interj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "intj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "By God! That chicken has no head!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1822 May 29, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in The Fortunes of Nigel. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 85:",
          "text": "[…] having made a cross cut, so as to ascertain the depth of the fat upon the chest, exclaimed, in a sort of rapture, “Three inches of white fat on the brisket!—prime—prime, as I am a crowded sinner—and de’il ane o’ the lazy loons in but mysell! Seven—aught—aught tines on the antlers. By G⁠—⁠d, a hart of aught tines, and the first of the season![…]”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An exclamation of surprise."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "wow"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "wa-llāh",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "وَاللّٰه"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "wǒ de tiān a",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "我的天啊"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "Shàngdì",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "上帝"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "tiān a",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "天啊"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "hyvänen aika"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "pardieu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "mon Dieu"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "meu Deus"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "par Deus"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "mein Gott"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "Theé mou",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "Θεέ μου"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "mnístiti mou kýrie",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "μνήστιτι μου κύριε"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "nante kotta",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "なんてこった"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "vallâh",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "وَاللّٰه"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "bóže moj",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "бо́же мой"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "por Dios"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "rediós"
    },
    {
      "code": "ur",
      "lang": "Urdu",
      "roman": "vāllāh",
      "sense": "surprise",
      "word": "وَاللّٰہ"
    }
  ],
  "word": "by God"
}

Download raw JSONL data for by God meaning in English (10.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.