ye gods
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Seventeenth-century British variant of oh my God, probably intended to avoid blasphemy.[1][2] Compare Danish I guder.
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Interjection
[edit]- (idiomatic, dated, euphemistic) Used to express surprise or incredulity.
- 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:
- Ye Gods, what Havock does Ambition make
Among your Works!
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter 2”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
- Would he not far rather lay him down lengthwise along the line of the equator; yea, ye gods! go down to the fiery pit itself, in order to keep out this frost?
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]expression of surprise or incredulity
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References
[edit]- ^ "Ye gods and little fishes!" (World Wide Words)
- ^ "Gosh, we can't leave God alone when we speak" (The Electric New Paper News)