Tetragrammaton

American  

[te-truh-gram-uh-ton] / ˌtɛ trəˈgræm əˌtɒn /

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.

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Tetragrammaton British  

/ ˌtɛtrəˈɡræmətən /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: Tetragram. 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

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Etymology

Origin of Tetragrammaton

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tetragrammaton

In mine, it is the Tetragrammaton, the Name so holy that those who know it dare not say it.

From Time Magazine Archive

"The Mardukans would; they trade with Tetragrammaton," the acknowledged bastard of somebody named Morvill said.

From Space Viking by H. Beam Piper

"Tetragrammaton Adonai!" muttered the warrior-magician in the holy gibberish of his art, with a voice of sepulchral hollowness, and with a countenance gleaming with indignation or enthusiasm.

From Calavar or The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico by Robert Montgomery Bird

Now it is said, “The eyes of Tetragrammaton thy God are thereon”; in good, that is to say, and in evil; according as either the red color or the yellow is required.

From Hebrew Literature by Epiphanius Wilson

But the Messiah had pronounced the Tetragrammaton, and God and the Creation were One again.

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Israel Zangwill