golly

Meanings

1. 1
   intj

   a mild, old-fashioned expression of surprise, alarm, or enthusiasm

   Golly, will we be in trouble if they find out?

Simplified etymology

Golly arose in the mid-18th century as a mild substitute for God, allowing speakers to avoid using the divine name in an exclamation.

A euphemistic alteration of God, attested from the eighteenth century and used to express surprise without swearing. It has also been connected with a contraction of the older oath God's body, though that route is less certain.

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