gospel
gos·pel/ˈɡɑspəl/noun, verb
gospel is spelled G-O-S-P-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (gos·pel). It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gospel means “The first section of the Christian New Testament scripture, comprising the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, concerned with the birth, ministry…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gospel is gospels.
How many letters and syllables are in gospel?
| Letters | 6: G-O-S-P-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: gos·pel |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,309th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is gospel?
Gospel appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gospel?
- UK /ˈɡɒspəl/
- US /ˈɡɑspəl/
Gospel has 2 syllables, split gos·pel in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gospel.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gospel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gospel
- gospels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- gospeling US, participle, present
- gospelling UK, participle, present
- gospeled US, participle, past
- gospelled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gospel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The first section of the Christian New Testament scripture, comprising the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, concerned with the birth, ministry, passion, and resurrection of Jesus.
- 2
An account of those aspects of Jesus' life, generally written during the first several centuries of the Common Era.
- 3
The teaching of Divine grace as distinguished from the Law or Divine commandments.
- 4
A message expected to have positive reception or effect, one promoted as offering important (or even infallible) guiding principles.
- 5
That which is absolutely authoritative (definitive).
We took her words for gospel.
- 6
Gospel music.
verb
- 1
To instruct in, declare, or communicate the gospel; to evangelise.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of gospel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gospel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense first section of New Testament:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | évangile |
| German | Evangelium |
| Portuguese | evangelho |
| Spanish | evangelio, Buena Nueva |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gospel come from?
From Middle English gospel, gospell, godspel, godspell, goddspell, from Old English godspell (“gospel”), corresponding to God + spell (“talk, tale, story”), literally “the message of God”, believed to be an alteration of earlier *gōdspell (literally “good news”), used to translate ecclesiastical Latin bona annūntiātiō, itself a translation of Ecclesiastical Latin ēvangelium / Ancient Greek εὐαγγέλιον (euangélion, “evangel”, literally “good news”) (English evangel).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).