godspell

godspell

1. (especially Early Middle English) alternative form of gospel

• godspel

Analysed as God +‎ spell, literally “God-message”, an alteration of earlier gōdspell (“good news”), from gōd (“good”) +‎ spell (“message, news”), a calque from Ecclesiastical Latin bona annūntiātiō or bonus nūntius, which was a then-current explanation of the meaning of Ecclesiastical Latin ēvangelium, from Ancient Greek εὐαγγέλιον (euangélion, “good news”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡodˌspell/, [ˈɡodˌspeɫ]

godspell n

1. gospel
   • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

     Þā besēah Martinus wið þǣs sċeoccan lēoht, ġemyndiġ on mōde hū sē Metoda Drihten cwæð on his godspelle þe his godcundan tōcyme, and cwæð tō ðām lēasan mid ġelǣredum mūðe, "Ne sǣde ūre Hǣlend þæt hē swā wolde bēon mid purpuran gehīwod, oððe mid helme scīnende, þonne hē eft cōme mid engla ðrymme." Đā fordwān sē deofol drēoriġ him fram, and sēo stōw ðā stanc mid ormǣtum stenċe, æfter andwerdnysse þǣs eġeslīċan gāstes.

     Then Martinus beheld the demon's light, mindful of what the Lord God said in his gospel about his divine coming, and said to the false one with learned mouth, "Our Savior did not say that he would be habited in purple, or that he would have a shining crown, when he came again with a host of angels." Then the sad devil disappeared, and the place stank with a powerful stench after the presence of the horrible spirit.

   • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

     Đā ġelǣredan ne beðurfon þyssera bōca, forðan ðe him mæġ heora āgen lār genihtsumian. Iċ cweðe nū þæt iċ næfre heonon forð ne āwende godspel oððe godspeltrahtas of Lēdene on Englisċ.

     The learned have no need of these books, for their own learning will suffice. I say now that henceforth, I will never translate a gospel or a gospel-commentary from Latin into English.

Strong a-stem:

• Middle English: gospel, gospell, godspel, godspell
  • English: gospel (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: gospel
• → Old Norse: guðspjall (calque)
  • Icelandic: guðspjall