Tetragrammaton

[ te-truh-gram-uh-ton ]

noun

1. the Hebrew word for God, consisting of the four letters yod, he, waw, and he, transliterated consonantally usually as YHWH, now pronounced as Adonai or Elohim in substitution for the original pronunciation forbidden since the 2nd or 3rd century b.c.

Tetragrammaton

/ ˌtɛtrəˈɡræmətən /

noun

1. Bible the Hebrew name for God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3), consisting of the four consonants Y H V H (or Y H W H) and regarded by Jews as too sacred to be pronounced. It is usually transliterated as Jehovah or Yahweh Sometimes shortened toTetragram

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tetragrammaton¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Greek tetragrámmaton, noun use of neuter of tetragrámmatos having four letters, equivalent to tetra- tetra- + grammat- (stem of grámma ) letter + -os adj. suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tetragrammaton¹

C14: from Greek, from tetragrammatos having four letters, from tetra- + gramma letter

Example Sentences

The Space Viking was asking him if he knew what sort of a place Tetragrammaton was.

From Project Gutenberg