Re: Considering Gottlieb was created in the 17th-century...
Probably yes. There are two homographic protothemes possible in most cases. Single syllable long-vowel God "good" is probably the original. Two syllable short vowel Goda- "god" however is routinely syncopated to one syllable by the systematic loss of unaccented vowels. So short syllable Godfrid "God-peace" (from Godafrid) becomes indistinguishable from long syllable Godfrid "good-peace" in the written record. So why do I say the short syllable is late and refers to the Christian god? Because the standard word for a deity in the classic Germanic onomastic tradition is not "god" but "Ans-/As-/Os-". The elevation of "god" over "Ansuz" is entirely the result of it's application to the Christian god. Indeed the use of Goda- is infrequent prior to the 11th C., and aside from Godefrith, the majority may be explained as cognomen or occupations rather than the usual personal names(Godaman for a monk, Godacild "godchild", Godesceald "gods servant" etc.)
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Thank you for your help, everybody! :) (nt)  ·  Lucille  ·  5/10/2005, 8:00 AM
Considering Gottlieb was created in the 17th-century...  ·  Miranda  ·  5/9/2005, 12:24 PM
Re: Considering Gottlieb was created in the 17th-century...  ·  thegriffon  ·  5/6/2021, 9:13 AM
Re: Gottfried and Gottlieb - Christian names in origin, or heathen names?  ·  Andy ;—)  ·  5/9/2005, 12:24 PM
Re: Gottfried and Gottlieb - Christian names in origin, or heathen names?  ·  Hydee Süpple  ·  4/30/2021, 11:41 AM