tetragrammaton

noun

1. 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.

noun

1. 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 YahwehSometimes shortened to: Tetragram

n.c.1400, from Greek (to) tetragrammaton “(the word) of four letters,” from tetra- “four” (see four) + gramma (genitive grammatos) “letter, something written” (see grammar). The Hebrew divine name, transliterated as YHWH, usually vocalized in English as “Jehovah” or “Yahweh.”