Tetragrammaton
[ te-truh-gram-uh-ton ]
/ ˌtɛ trəˈgræm əˌtɒn /
noun
the Hebrew word for God, consisting of the four letters yod, he, vav, and he, transliterated consonantally usually as YHVH, now pronounced as Adonai or Elohim in substitution for the original pronunciation forbidden since the 2nd or 3rd century b.c.
Compare
Yahweh.
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
British Dictionary definitions for tetragrammaton
Tetragrammaton
/ (ˌtɛtrəˈɡræmətən) /
noun
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 to: Tetragram
Word Origin for Tetragrammaton
C14: from Greek, from
tetragrammatos having four letters, from
tetra- +
gramma letter