godmother

USGOD-muh-thur/ˈɡɑdmʌðɚ/UKGOD-mu-thuh/ˈɡɒdmʌðə/

Pluralgodmothers

Verbgodmothers, godmothering, godmothered

2 meanings of godmother

Practice

1
nouncountable
A woman who sponsors a child's baptism and promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a female godparent.
At the christening, the godmother held the baby while the priest recited the blessing.
She asked her college roommate to be the baby's godmother at next month's baptism.
Similarsponsor, godparent
Oppositegodfather
Note
An old compound, built just as it looks: Old English godmōdor, god- plus mother. Close matches run across the Germanic languages, including Old High German gotmuoter, Old Norse guðmóðir, Swedish gudmoder and Danish gudmor. In many Christian traditions she makes promises of faith on the infant's behalf during the rite itself. Godparent is the broader word when the sponsor's sex does not matter.
2
verbtransitive
To act as godmother to; to take on the role of godmother for a child.
She felt honored when the couple asked her to godmother their daughter.
Over the years, Maria godmothered three of her cousins' children.
Similarsponsor
Note
The noun turned into a transitive verb, with the child as its direct object: she godmothered their daughter. It inflects regularly as godmothers, godmothering and godmothered. In H. G. Wells's Tono-Bungay (1909), a character "godmothered three Susans," which shows the verb counting the role child by child. The word's history belongs with the noun.

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Origin

From Middle English godmoder, from Old English godmōdor, formed from 'god-' plus 'mother'. It is cognate with Old High German gotmuoter, Old Norse guðmóðir, Swedish gudmoder, and Danish gudmor.