Other forms: best, better
Good is the word you reach for when something turns out the way you hoped. A good cup of coffee, a good night's sleep, a good day at work.
It stretches in several directions at once. It means skilled, and then it takes AT — good at maths, good at listening, never good in maths. It means morally right, as in a good man, or doing good. Said to a child it means well-behaved; said about food or exercise it means healthy, and there it takes FOR. As a noun it goes two ways: the good is what is right, and goods are things made to be sold. The comparison is irregular, better and best, never gooder, and after a verb of doing you want the adverb — she sings well, the car runs well. He did good means he did charitable work, not that he performed nicely.
1adjectivegoodOf a standard that pleases you; enjoyable.~12%
“That was a good film, better than the reviews said.”
2adjectiveskilledSkilled at something.~2%
“She is good at spotting mistakes nobody else sees.”
3adjectivemorallyMorally right; kind.~11%
“He was a good man in a hard job.”
4adjectivewellWell-behaved.~2%
“Be good while I am out.”
5adjectivehelpfulHelpful to your health or your situation.~2%
“Walking is good for your knees.”
6nounbenefitsWhat is right, or what benefits people.~2%
“She left the money to the hospital, for the good of the town.”
7nounsoldThings that are made to be sold, used in the plural.~69%
“The lorry was carrying electrical goods.”
Shares are an estimate: a language model read 8 sentences found in the wild and placed 8 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.
Good is Old English gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz and a Proto-Indo-European root gʰedʰ- meaning to unite, fit or suit. So the oldest sense is nearer to fitting than to fine, and the word's true relatives are gather and together. It has nothing to do with God, however alike the two look on the page. English even had a borrowed rival, bon, taken from French, and kept good instead.
Proto-Indo-European
*gʰedʰ-
Middle English
good
English, today
good
From Middle English good. Middle English good, from Old English gōd, from Proto-West Germanic gōd, from Proto-Germanic gōdaz (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European gʰedʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit, fit”). Related to gather and together, but not to god/God.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA