Etymology and usage
Main article: God (word)
The earliest written form of the Germanic word "god" comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself descends from the Proto-Germanic *gudan. Most linguists agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form *?hu-tó-m was based on the root *?hau(?)-, which meant either "To call" or to "invoke."
The capitalized form "God" was first used in Ulfilas' Gothic translation of the New Testament, to represent the Greek Theos.
In the English language the capitalization continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and the "gods" of polytheism.[5] The name "God" now typically refers to the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. Though there are significant cultural divergences that are implied by these different names, "God" remains the common English translation for all.
The name may signify any related or similar monotheistic deities, such as the early monotheism of Akhenaten and Zoroastrianism.
Names of God
Main article: Names of God
Radha and Krishna - The Supreme Personality of Godhead in a painting by Raja Ravi VarmaThe noun God is the proper English name used for the deity of monotheistic faiths. Various English third-person pronouns are used for God, and the correctness of each is disputed. (See God and gender.)
Different names for God exist within different religious traditions:
I am that I am, is, in Christianity and Judaism, God's response to the question of his name. Old Testament (King James Version): "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his ...