godwinEtymologyFrom Old English Godwine (“God's friend”). The component -win is from Old English wine (“friend”). The second meaning is named after Michael Wayne Godwin (born 1956), American attorney and author.nameA surname originating as a patronymic based on a medieval given name.A male given name.A town in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States, named after pioneer settler.nounAn inappropriate mention of the Nazis or Adolf Hitler in a discussion.“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.”