tetragrammaton Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun four Hebrew letters usually transliterated as YHWH (Yahweh) or JHVH (Jehovah) signifying the Hebrew name for God which the Jews regarded as too holy to pronounce

WordNet

Tet`ra*gram"ma*ton noun
Etymology
NL., fr. Gr. (see Tetra-) + a letter.
Definitions
  1. The mystic number four, which was often symbolized to represent the Deity, whose name was expressed by four letters among some ancient nations; as, the Hebrew JeHoVaH, Greek qeo`s, Latin deus, etc.

Webster 1913