An archaic or dialectal exclamation or oath, likely a euphemistic corruption of 'by God' or a similar religious invocation.
From Early Modern English, believed to be an alteration of 'by God' or 'egad' (itself a euphemism). The word appears in 17th and 18th-century texts as a mild oath used in casual speech.
Ecod is the kind of word that shows up in Shakespeare and old novels—it's basically an ancient internet abbreviation where people swore without actually swearing, like saying 'gosh' instead of something stronger!
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