What is "god's acre"

God \God\ (g[o^]d), n. [AS. god; akin to OS. & D. god, OHG. got, G. gott, Icel. gu[eth], go[eth], Sw. & Dan. gud, Goth. gup, prob. orig. a p. p. from a root appearing in Skr. h[=u], p. p. h[=u]ta, to call upon, invoke, implore. [root]30. Cf. Goodbye, Gospel, Gossip.]

1. A being conceived of as possessing supernatural power, and to be propitiated by sacrifice, worship, etc.; a divinity; a deity; an object of worship; an idol.

   He maketh a god, and worshipeth it.
   --Is. xliv. 15.

   The race of Israel . . . bowing lowly down To bestial gods.
   --Milton.

2. The Supreme Being; the eternal and infinite Spirit, the Creator, and the Sovereign of the universe; Jehovah.

   God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
   --John iv. 24.

3. A person or thing deified and honored as the chief good; an object of supreme regard.

   Whose god is their belly.
   --Phil. iii. 19.

4. Figuratively applied to one who wields great or despotic power. [R.] --Shak. Act of God. (Law) See under Act. Gallery gods, the occupants of the highest and cheapest gallery of a theater. [Colloq.] God's acre, God's field, a burial place; a churchyard. See under Acre. God's house.

   1. An almshouse. [Obs.]

   2. A church.

      God's penny, earnest penny. [Obs.]
      --Beau. & Fl.

      God's Sunday, Easter.

Acre \A"cre\, n. [OE. aker, AS. [ae]cer; akin to OS. accar, OHG. achar, Ger. acker, Icel. akr, Sw. [*a]ker, Dan. ager, Goth. akrs, L. ager, Gr. ?, Skr. ajra. [root]2, 206.]

1. Any field of arable or pasture land. [Obs.]

2. A piece of land, containing 160 square rods, or 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet. This is the English statute acre. That of the United States is the same. The Scotch acre was about 1.26 of the English, and the Irish 1.62 of the English.

   Note: The acre was limited to its present definite quantity by statutes of Edward I., Edward III., and Henry VIII.

   Broad acres, many acres, much landed estate. [Rhetorical]

   God's acre, God's field; the churchyard.

   I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls The burial ground, God's acre.
   --Longfellow.

God's Acre is an English term for a churchyard, specifically the burial ground. The word comes from the German Gottesacker (Field of God) an ancient designation for a burial ground. The use of "Acre" is related to, but not derived from the unit of measurement and can be of any size. In the early 17th century the term was used as a translation of the German, but by the end of the century it was accepted as an English term.