English edit

Etymology edit

From by dad, euphemistic form of by God.

Interjection edit

bedad

  1. (dated, chiefly Ireland) by God
    • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair[1]:
      Lady O'Dowd is also so attached to it that, she says, if anything were to happen to Mick, bedad she'd come back and marry some of 'em.
    • 1867, Anthony Trollope, Phineas Finn[2]:
      But as for the party, bedad, it's rotten to the core, and won't stand another session.
    • 1875, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), Sketches New and Old[3]:
      "Ah, bedad, ye can finish it yourself--it's too expansive for me!"
    • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses[4]:
      May I tempt you to a little more filleted lemon sole, miss Dubedat? Yes, do bedad. And she did bedad.