Tetragrammaton

American  

[te-truh-gram-uh-ton] / ˌtɛ trəˈgræm əˌtɒn /

noun

1. the Hebrew word for God, consisting of the four letters yod, he, waw, and he, transliterated consonantally usually as YHWH, now pronounced as Adonai or Elohim in substitution for the original pronunciation forbidden since the 2nd or 3rd century b.c.

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Tetragrammaton British  

/ ˌtɛtrəˈɡræmətən /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: Tetragram.  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

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Etymology

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