"Good Heavens!": An Old English Euphemism?

Authors

Dallin D. Oaks, Brigham Young UniversityFollow

Keywords

Good heavens!, Euphemism, OED (Oxford English Dictionary), Substituted expression, Original meaning

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that the expression good heavens! is a euphemistic one, originally coined to avoid a more direct reference to God. The OED, for example, seems to regard the word heavens as a "substituted expression" for God in the exclamation good heavens! While this substitution may in fact characterize how speakers use the expression now, it may not reflect the original meaning behind this expression.

Original Publication Citation

"'Good Heavens!': An Old English Euphemism?" General Linguistics 33:1-2 (1993). 57-63.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Oaks, Dallin D., ""Good Heavens!": An Old English Euphemism?" (1993). Faculty Publications. 6715.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/6715

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1993

Publisher

Pennsylvania State University Press

Language

English

College

Humanities

Department

Linguistics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Copyright Status

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