egad

[ih-gad, ee-gad]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR egad ON THESAURUS.COM

interjection

(used as an expletive or mild oath): Egad, I never thought of that!

Also e·gads

[ih-gadz, ee-gadz] /ɪˈgædz, iˈgædz/.

Origin of egad

First recorded in 1665–75; euphemistic alteration of oh God!

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for egad

exclamation, wow, amen, hello, alas, boo, hurrah, ahem, oh, whoopee, hooray, shucks, er, ouch, rah, ah, golly, hey, huh, jeepers

Examples from the Web for egad

Contemporary Examples of egad

Egad, I thought, has Schnittman now lost faith in the promise of a vast galactic universe of content?
Don't Write Off Books
Peter Osnos
April 7, 2009

Historical Examples of egad

Egad, there is more fall than rise, and it is anything but gentle.'
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
This post I held until I grew out of it, when I withdrew from town, but egad!
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
Fly, my sweetest, move those dainty feet of thine, for egad!
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
Egad, I forget what you said to me, or whether you said anything.
The Macdermots of Ballycloran
Anthony Trollope
"Egad, I scarcely fancy trusting you," said he, half peevishly.
One Of Them
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for egad

egad

interjection

archaic a mild oath or expression of surprise

Word Origin for egad

C17: probably variant of Ah God!

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for egad

1670s, I gad, a softened oath, second element God, first uncertain; perhaps it represents exclamation ah.