godspell

• 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

• godspellian (“evangelize”)
• godspellere (“evangelist”)

• Middle English: gospel, gospell, godspel, godspell, goddspell
  • English: gospel
• → Old Norse: guðspjall (calque)
  • Icelandic: guðspjall