Godwin

name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An inappropriate mention of the Nazis or Adolf Hitler in a discussion. informal

    "Presumably, because the institute producing the book promotes the idea that evolution isn't science, but an ideology, one that their fellows have pulled a Godwin on and attempted to tie to Nazism."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname originating as a patronymic based on a medieval given name.
  2. 2
    A town in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States, named after pioneer settler.

Example

More examples

"Mike Godwin himself rejects the alleged corollary to his famous law, that whoever makes a Nazi comparison has lost the argument."

Etymology

The component -win is from Old English wine. The second meaning is named after Michael Wayne Godwin (born 1956), American attorney and author.

Related phrases

Godwin's lawMount Godwin-Austengo Godwin

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.