guddommen

Guddommen is a term used in Danish and Norwegian to refer to the divine realm or the set of divine beings. It can denote the godhead, meaning either a single supreme deity or a collective pantheon, depending on context. The word is formed from gud, meaning "god," and dom, a suffix related to domain, rule, or office, with guddommen as the definite form meaning "the godhead" or "the divinity."

In religious and scholarly writing, guddommen is used to discuss the concept of divinity across traditions. In polytheistic contexts it may refer to multiple gods or divine beings within a pantheon, while in monotheistic frameworks it can describe the singular, all-embracing divine essence or the supreme God. The term thus functions as a broad, neutral label for discussions of divinity without naming specific deities.

In Norse and other Germanic traditions, the concept of guddommen encompasses the major divine figures as well as lesser beings regarded as gods or spirits within a belief system. The term is more common in formal or literary language than in everyday speech, where gud (god) or the specific name of a deity is typically used.

See also: deity, divinity, pantheon, polytheism, monotheism, godhead.