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tetragrammaton

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Tet⋅ra⋅gram⋅ma⋅ton

[te-truh-gram-uh-ton]
–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:
1350–1400; ME < Gk tetragrámmaton, n. use of neut. of tetragrámmatos having four letters, equiv. to tetra- tetra- + grammat- (s. of grámma) letter + -os adj. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Tet·ra·gram·ma·ton   (tět'rə-grām'ə-tŏn')   
n.  The four Hebrew letters usually transliterated as YHWH or JHVH, used as a biblical proper name for God.

[Middle English Tetragramaton, from Greek tetragrammaton, four-letter word, from neuter of tetragrammatos, four-lettered : tetra-, tetra- + gramma, grammat-, letter; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

tetragrammaton 
c.1400, from Gk. (to) tetragrammaton "(the word) of four letters," from tetra- "four" + gramma (gen. grammatos) "letter, something written." The Hebrew divine name, transliterated as YHWH, usually vocalized in English as "Jehovah" or "Yahweh."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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