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Gospel

3 stages from Greek to English.

Today it means the teaching of Christ; one of the first four books of the New Testament; a music style

Where does the word "gospel" come from? It comes from Greek euangélion, passing through Old English before entering English (1200s).

euangélion→gōdspel→gospel

Greek · ancient

'good news', eu 'good' + angelia 'message'; Mark's Gospel opens 'The beginning of the euangelion of Jesus Christ'

Old English · 900s

"good news; gospel"

a word-for-word translation, gōd 'good' + spel 'news, story'; Aldred wrote an Old English gloss into the Lindisfarne Gospels in the 900s

English · 1200s

"the teaching of Christ; a music style"

the first part was soon heard as 'God', 'God-story'; Thomas A. Dorsey, 'the father of gospel music', shaped the Black church music style from the 1930s

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Read the full story

Gospel’s story begins in Greek: euangélion meant “good news.” 'good news', eu 'good' + angelia 'message'; Mark's Gospel opens 'The beginning of the euangelion of Jesus Christ'. By 900s, the word had taken hold in Old English as gōdspel. A word-for-word translation, gōd 'good' + spel 'news, story'; Aldred wrote an Old English gloss into the Lindisfarne Gospels in the 900s. It reached English by 1200s as gospel. The first part was soon heard as 'God', 'God-story'; Thomas A. Dorsey, 'the father of gospel music', shaped the Black church music style from the 1930s. Today, gospel means the teaching of Christ; one of the first four books of the New Testament; a music style.