germ-cell similar cells of a germinating organism; a cell resulting from segmentation of the vitellus; a blastomere. The germ-cell assimilates the surrounding yolk, and propagates its kind by spontaneous fission, whence the first cell has been termed the primary germ-cell, and its Brande and Cox. progeny the derivative germ-cell. That germ-form of a germ-cup (jerm ́kup), n. germ which is a gastrula. See gastrula, and extract under germ-form. Any disease germ-disease (jėrm'di-zēz"), n. produced by a microscopic parasite or microbe. germ-disk (jerm'disk), n. The germ-area of a germ when of a discoidal shape. In a mammal it is specifically the gastrodiscus of a gastrocystis; in other animals it is of a different morphological character, but is always the seat of specially active germination after the Also called germi formation of the original blastoderm. nal disk. germen (jer ́men), n. [Also germin; ‹ L. germen (germin-), a sprout, offshoot, germ: see germ. 1. A germ; an ovum; an egg, as of a bird, while still in the ovary. [Rare.] Thou, all-shaking thunder, . Crack nature's moulds, all germens spill at once, Shak., Lear, iii. 2. That make ungrateful man. The germen in the seed of a plant. Boyle, Works, VI. 794. 24. A shoot or sprout. See the extract. The tenant for life can cut all that is not timber, with certain exceptions. He cannot cut ornamental trees, and he cannot destroy "germins," as the old law calls them, or stools of underwood; and he cannot destroy trees planted for the protection of banks and various exceptions of that kind. L. A. Goodere, Modern Law of Real Property, p. 49. 3. The ovary. Compare germarium. germ-form (jerm'fôrm), n. The form of a germ at any period of its germination or development, with reference to its morphological value. Thus, the cytula, the morula, the blastula, and the gastrula are successive germ-forms in the history of most germs. This highly important and interesting germ-form is gastrula. called the germ-cup, or the Haeckel, Evol. of Man (trans.), I. 192. germ-gland (jėrm'gland), n. A gland that produces germs; an ovary or spermary; an ovarium or testis; especially, a primitive indifferent gland which is subsequently differentiated into the essential glandular organ of either sex. 2500 membrane or blastoderm; also, the cell-wall of an ovum. Prophecies.. .. are not fulfilled punctually at once, but May it not one day be written, for the praise of the germinate (jer'mi-nāt), v.; pret. and pp. ger- Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 135. II. trans. To cause to sprout; put forth; pro- = In the leafy months of June and July several French departments germinate a set of rebellious paper-leaves, named Proclamations, Resolutions, Journals, or Diurnals, In Gordius the excretory ducts of the paired germ-glands "of the Union for Resistance to Oppression." are in both sexes united with the hind-gut. Carlyle, French Rev., II. iv. 1. Gegenbaur, Comp. Anat. (trans.), p. 185. [< ME. gerThe embry- germination (jer-mi-nā ́shon), n. germ-history (jerm ́his tō-ri), n. ogeny of any given organism; ontogeny: dis-minacion = F. germination = Sp. germinacion = Pg. germinação = It. germinazione, < L. germinatinguished from tribal history or phylogeny. [ germicide + tio, sprouting forth, budding, < germinare, pp. germicidal (jèr'mi-si-dal), a. -al.] Pertaining to or of the nature of a ger- germinatus, sprout, bud: see germinate.] The micide; germ-killing: as, germicidal gases. act, process, or result of germinating; the evolution of a germ or seed; the formation of an embryo from an ovum. Some [organisms], on the other hand, are either in themselves innocuous or are killed when they enter the blood, which is a fluid tissue and acts as a germicide; hence the tissues in a healthy condition are spoken of as germicidal. Encyc. Brit., XXII. 680. germicide (jer'mi-sīd), n. [< L. germ(en), a germ, +-cida, a killer, < cædere, kill.] That which destroys germs; specifically, a substance capable of killing the germs, microbes, or micro-organisms of certain zymotic diseases, as cholera, or used for that purpose. These accessions [of fever in whooping-cough] have always with them an increase in the germs of the disease; they are better lessened or prevented by whatever the use aids the resisting power of the child than by Quain, Med. Dict., p. 1774. of special germicides. [< L. gergermiculture (jėr ́mi-kul-tūr), n. m(en), a germ, + cultura, culture.] The artificial cultivation of the microscopical organisms (bacteria) connected with certain diseases. See germ theory, under germ. [gergermiculturist (jėr-mi-kul'tūr-ist), n. miculture +-ist.] One who makes artificial cultures of germs, especially of bacteria; a bacteriologist. The third point-the antiseptic value of these bodies --still remains for the germiculturist to determine. Medical News, LII. 640. = = germint, n. Same as germen, 2. Those germinal ideas of making his mind tell upon the world at large. . . had been sprouting under cover. George Eliot, Middlemarch, I. 393. Germinal or living matter is always transparent, colourless, and, as far as can be ascertained by examination with the highest powers, perfectly structureless, and it exhibits these same characters at every period of existence. Beale, Protoplasm, p. 38. Germinal disk, a germ-disk.- Germinal epithelium. See epithelium.-Germinal membrane, a blastodermic The perpetual leaven and germinations, the thrustings forth and swelling of his senses. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 12. Specifically, in bot.: (a) The process of development of the embryo of a seed into a perfect plant. The conditions neMoisture cessary for germination are the presence of moisture, free oxygen, as in atmospheric air, and warmth. softens the integuments of the seed and relaxes the tissues of the embryo, at the same time dissolving such nutrient matters in the seed as sugar, dextrine, etc., in readiness The absorption of for their assimilation by the embryo. oxygen is necessary for the chemical changes which always accompany growth. The degree of warmth needed to excite to action the vital forces of the plant varies in different species, some seeds, as those of wheat, being capable of germinating upon melting ice, while others require a temperature of over 60° F. During germination various usually accompanied by an increase of temperature, as is As an immediate result seen in the process of malting. gerontes germinate +-ive.] Pertaining to, consisting in, constituting, or capable of germination; germinal. germinet (jėrʼmin), v. i. [ME. germinen; ‹ OF. But save the gemmes in the summyte, Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 119. germ-layer (jėrm ́lā"èr), n. In biol., any blastodermic membrane or blastoderm; any layer of cells, forming a membrane, which enters into the structure of a germ in its early stages. The first is the single blastoderm of a blastula or vesicular mo rula. By invagination this germ-form becomes a gastrula, with two germ-layers, the hypoblastic blastodermic layer, or endoderm, and the epiblastic blastodermic layer, or ectoderm; development between which two of a third mesoblastic layer of cells, or mesoderm, and subsequent splitting of this into an inner and an outer layer, called splanchnopleure and somatopleure, results in the four germ-layers Names of special germ-layers of most metazoic animals. or germ-membranes are: blastophylla, epiblast, mesoblast, hypoblast, endoderm, ectoderm, mesoderm, somatopleure, splanchnopleure, etc. They are also called layers, as skinlayer, serous layer, etc. See cuts under gastrula and gastrulation. The Metazoa can alone be considered as true animals, and the origin from two primary germ-layers may be held to form the primary character of the animal kingdom. Haeckel, Evol. of Man (trans.), I. 68. germ-membrane (jérmʼmemʼbrān), n. A germlayer. scure.] Orcynus germo, a fish of the family germon (jer'mon), n. [<NL. germo; origin obScombrida, closely related to the common tunny. A corruption of gemgerm-peg (jėrm'peg), n. peg. germ-plasma (jèrm ́plaz ̋mä), n. Protoplasm peculiar to a germ or ovum, and supposed to influence or determine the character of the resulting organism, by virtue of its special chemical or molecular composition. Germ-plasma may thus be considered, theoretically, as the physical basis of all the phenomena which are grouped under the name of heredity. The germ-plasma is regarded as a substance of peculiar chemical or even more special molecular composition, which passes over from one generation to another. Jour. Roy. Micros. Soc., 1886, p. 213. germ-pore (jèrm'pōr), n. In cryptogamic bot., a pore or pit in the outer integument of a spore, through which the exit of the germ-tube takes place. Many of these pores serve as places of exit for the tubular outgrowths from the spore at the time of germination, and may therefore be termed germ-pores; others perform no such function, and are therefore only simple pores or De Bary, Fungi (trans.), p. 100. Same as notaspis. pits. germ-shield (jėrm'shēld), n. The majestic tree of human thought can never be comprehended unless regard is had to the formless germule of the psychical life of the zoophite, and ascending evolution is followed up in the animal series. Tr. for Alien. and Neurol., VI. 495. In embryol., germ-vesicle (jėrm'ves i-kl), n. a germ in a vesicular state. It is either (a) a true Seeds Germinating. The central figure chemical changes shows a plant which has newly appeared gern, v. and n. take place in the above ground. gernet, v. and a. starch and other insoluble material stored up for the use of the embryo in gerocomia (jer-ō-kō’mi-ä), n. [NL.: see gethe cotyledons or in the albumen of the seed, rendering rocomy.] Same as gerocomy. them soluble and fit for assimilation, which changes ar gerocomical (jer-o-kom'i-kal), a. [<gerocomy +-ic-al.] Pertaining to gerocomy. [Rare.] [= F. gérocomie, < gerocomy (je-rok ́o-mi), n. NL. gerocomia, short for *gerontocomia (cf. LL. gerontocomium, LGг. уεроνтокоμɛiov, a hospital for old men, < Gr. γέρων (γεροντο), an old man, + KOμεiv, take care of.] Medical discussion of the proper regimen for old people. [Rare.] gerontes (ge-ron'tes), n. pl. [Gr. yεpovτes, pl. of yέpuv (yepovт-), an old man.] In Gr. antiq., in Dorian states, members of an aristocratic assembly of elders called the gerusia. The geru of the growing process thus excited and carried on in the seed, a root is produced which strikes downward, fixing itself in the soil and beginning to absorb thence nourishment for the new plant. At the same time the other extremity of the axis of growth is directed upward and develops a stem and leaves. (b) The similar development of a plant from the spore in cryptogams. (c) The early period of growth in a bud, as of a bulb or of a rhizome. (d) The protrusion and growth of the pollen-tube from the pollen-grain. germinative (jer'mi-na-tiv), a. [= F. germinaPg. It. germinativo; as tif = Pr. germinatiu gerontes sia of Sparta consisted of the two kings, as its presidents, and thirty members. Candidates for membership were not eligible under sixty years of age, nor unless of distinguished character and station. The gerontes held office for life; their functions were partly deliberative, in that they prepared measures to be laid before the popular assembly, partly executive, and partly judicial. With the ephors and kings, they constituted the supreme authority of the state. gerontikon (ge-ron'ti-kon), n.; pl. gerontika (-kä). [LGr. yepovтikóv, neut. of Gr. yepovTIKÓS, of an old man, yépwv (yepovт-), an old man.] In the Gr. Ch., a book containing a collection of anecdotes and apothegms or sayings of ancient anchorites and monastic fathers. This is one of the collections of Apophthegmata or Gerontika so common in monastic MSS., of which probably no two are alike. Amer. Jour. Philol., VII. 220. gerontocracy (jer-on-tok'ra-si), n. [< Gr. yépwv (yepovr-), an old man, + кpáros, power.] Government by old men. I agree with Mr. Lowe that we are in danger of engendering both a gerontocracy and a plutocracy. Gladstone, quoted in W. R. Greg's Misc. Essays, [1st ser., p. 172. gerontogeous (je-ron-to-jē'us), a. [< Gr. yepo (yepovT-), an old man, y, the earth.] Belonging to the old world: said of plants, etc. gerontoxon (jer-on-tok'son), n. [< Gr. yεpwv (yepovT-), an old man, + rógov, a bow.] In med., same as arcus senilis (which see, under arcus). geropigia, jerupigia (jer-ō-, jer-ö-pij'i-ä), n. [Pg. geropiga, Sp. gerapliega, ME. gerapigra, ierapigra (cf. mod. pop. E. hickery-pickery), all corruptions of hiera-picra, q. v.] A factitious liquor exported from Portugal for adulterating port and other wines, and also other beverages. Its composition is various, but it generally contains about one third of strong brandy and two thirds of unfermented grape-juice, strongly sweetened, and colored by ratanyroot, logwood, etc. Very deleterious ingredients are sometimes found in it on analysis. -gerous. [L. -ger, -gera, -gerum: see -ger and The gerrard thus gan hir bigile, Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 64. Gerres (jer'ēz), n. [L. gerres, an inferior salted sea-fish.] A Cuvierian (1829) genus of acanthopterygian fishes. Gerrhonotida (jer-o-not'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., < Gerrhonotus +-ida.] A family of lacertilians, typified by the genus Gerrhonotus: scarcely distinguished from Anguida. Gerrhonotus (jer-o-no'tus), n. [NL., Gr. Yeppov, anything made of wickerwork, as a shield, screen, etc., +voroç, back.] A genus of Gerrhonotus cæruleus. lizards, of the family Anguida, or giving name to the Gerrhonotida. There are several species in the western United States, as G. nobilis, G. principis, and G. multicarinatus. Gerrhosauridæ (jer-o-sâ'ri-dē), n. pl. [NL., Gerrhosaurus+ide.] A family of true lacertilians, typified by the genus Gerrhosaurus. They are characterized by having the clavicles dilated proximally, and frequently loop-shaped; arches present; the supratemporal fossa roofed over; the premaxillary single; and the body with osteodermal plates with regular tubules, formed by a transverse plate anastomosing with perpendicular plates. It is a family of Africa and Madagascar, containing a number of species capable of running with great celerity and of burrowing to some extent in the sand. Gerrhosaurus (jer-o-sâ'rus), n. [NL., < Gr. Yeppov, anything made of wickerwork, as a shield, screen, etc., + caupos, a lizard.] The 2501 typical genus of the family Gerrhosauride; the basket-lizards. G. flavigularis is a South African spe Gerrhosaurus flavigularis. cies, about 12 inches long, of a yellowish-brown color with lighter and darker markings. gerrick (ger'ik), n. [E. dial. (Cornish); origin obscure. Cf. gerrock (1).] A local English (Cornish) name of the garfish, Belone vulgaris. Gerrida (jer'i-de), n. pl. [NL., Gerris or Gerres+ida.] 1. A family of water-bugs, or aquatic heteropterous insects, typified by the genus Gerris. See Hydrobatida. Also written Gerrida, Gerrides.-2. A family of acanthopterygian fishes, typified by the genus Gerres. They have a compressed body, protractile jaws, lower pharyngeal bones generally coalesced in the adult, a long dorsal fin with the anterior portion spinigerous, anal fin moderate or short and with two to four spines, and four complete sets of gills and pseudobranchise. The species are numerous, and representatives occur in all tropical and subtropical seas. Most of them are of small size, rarely exceeding 5 or 6 inches. Gerris (jer'is), n. [NL.; cf. Gr. yéppov, a shield or other thing made of wickerwork.] The name-giving genus of bugs of the family Gerride. Fabricius, 1794. The old name, Gerris, by which many of these insects Hydrobatidae) were formerly known, has become obsolete, by reason of its having been used for various insects not generically connected. . . . Our most common species, G. remigis, has been taken from Gerris, and is now placed Stand. Nat. Hist., II. 267. in the genus Hygrotrechus. gery gersomet, gersumet, n. [Also gressom, grassum, gressam, gressome, gressume, gressoin, etc.; ME. gersum, AS. garsum, gersum, treasure, riches, Icel. görsemi, gersemi, a costly thing, a jewel.] 1. Riches; wealth; treasure.-2. Bonus; extra payment, such as a fine exacted from a tenant on the transfer of his holding, or a sum by way of commutation in advance in compensation for a reduction of the rate of rent under the lease. Norwich... paide unto the king twenty pounds;. but now it paieth seventy pounds by weight to the king, and an hundred shillings for a gersume to the queene. Holland, tr. of Camden's Britain, p. 474. gerund (jer'und), n. [< LL. gerundium, also called gerundivus modus (see gerundive), < gerundus, another form of gerendus, neut. gerundum, gerendum, only in oblique cases, the gerundive and gerund, respectively, of gerere, carry, carry on, perform: so called because, according to the old grammarians, the gerund prop. expressed the doing or the necessity of doing something.] The name given originally by grammarians to a Latin verbal noun, used in oblique cases with an infinitival value: as, amandi, amando, amandum, 'loving'; hence applied also in other languages to somewhat kindred formations: e. g., in Sanskrit to forms in tea, ya, etc., having the value of indeclinable adjectives: as, gatva, -gatya, 'going'; in Anglo-Saxon to a dative infinitive after to: as, god to etanne, 'good to eat' (that is, 'good for eating'). Abbreviated ger. gerund-grinder (jer'und-grin"der), n. A pedant; a pedagogue. [Humorous.] The world is governed by names; and with the word pedagogue has been ludicrously associated the idea of a pedant, a mere plodder, a petty tyrant, a gerund-grinder, and a bum-brusher. V. Knox, Winter Evenings, lix. Here is the glass for pedagogues, preceptors, tutors, governours, gerund-grinders, and bear-leaders to view themselves in. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, iv. 112. gerund-grinding (jer'und-grin'ding), n. Plodding or pedantic grammatical or other study or teaching. [Humorous.] Gerund-grinding and parsing are usually prepared for at the last moment. Hone's Every-day Book, II. 33. Other departments of schooling had been infinitely more productive for our young friend than the gerundgrinding one. Carlyle, Sterling, i. 4. gerundial (je-run'di-al), a. and n. [L. gerun dium, gerund, + -al.] I. a. Same as gerundival. II. n. Same as gerundive. Not to mention exceptional cases, the Latins regularly employed the gerundial both actively and passively. G. P. Marsh, Lects. on Eng. Lang., xxix. gerundially (je-run'di-al-i), adv. In the manner of a gerund. The Icelandic active participle is used gerundially as a passive. G. P. Marsh, Lects. on Eng. Lang., xxix. gerrock (ger'ok), n. [Sc., also spelled gerrack and gerrocks. Cf. gerrat, gerrit, a samlet, perhaps Gael. gearr, short.] A local Scotch name of the coalfish. gerrymander (ger'i-man-der), n. [In humorous imitation of salamander, from a fancied resemblance to this animal of a map of one of the districts formed in the redistricting of Massachusetts by the legislature in 1811, when Elbridge Gerry was governor. The redistricting was intended (it was believed at the instigation of Gerry) to secure unfairly the election of a gerundival (je-run'di-val or jer-un-di'val), a. majority of Democratic senators. It is now gerundive+-al.] Pertaining to or of the known, however, that he was opposed to the nature of a gerundive. Also gerundial. measure.] In U. S. politics, an arbitrary arrangement of the political divisions of a State, in disregard of the natural or proper boundaries as indicated by geography or position, made so as to give one party an unfair advantage in elections. The effect of such a proceeding has sometimes been to secure to a party a majority in the legislature of a State, or in its quota of members of Congress, at an election in which the opposite party received a majority of the total number of votes. gerrymander (ger'i-man-dèr), v. t. [< gerrymander, n.] 1. To district, as a State, by the unfair arrangement called a gerrymander; arrange arbitrarily and unfairly, as the boundaries of political divisions, for the sake of partisan advantage in elections.-2. To shift and manipulate, as facts, so as to force an agreement with a preconceived notion. [Rare.] Gerrymandering dialect phenomena cannot but hurt a domain of philology that is sadly in lack of material with which to operate. Trans. Amer. Philol. As8., XVIII. 123. gersdorffite (gerz'dorf-it), n. [Named after Hofrath von Gersdorf, proprietor of a nickelmine where the mineral was first found.] A mineral consisting of nickel sulphid and nickel arsenide, having a silver-white to steel-gray color and metallic luster. Gershonite (ger' shon-it), n. [< Gershon + ite2.] Among the ancient Hebrews, a descendant of Gershon, son of Levi, and a member of the second in rank of the three great families of the Levites. It was the duty of the Gershonites, when the tabernacle was moved, to carry the coverings and hangings. = = The line between the gerundival and the more ordinary adjective use is in other cases not always easy to draw. Whitney, Trans. Amer. Philol. Ass., XV. 119. gerundive (je-run'div), n. [= F. gérondif Pr. gerundiu Sp. Pg. It. gerundio = D. gerondium G. Dan. gerundium; LL. gerundivus: see gerund.] A name given originally by Latin grammarians to the future participle passive, as amandus, 'to be loved, requiring to be loved,' but also used in the grammars of other languages, as Sanskrit, to indicate verbal adjectives having a like office. Also gerundial. gerundively (je-run'div-li), adv. In the manner of a gerund or gerundive; as or in place of a gerund or gerundive. gerusia (ge-röʻsi-ä), n. [L. gerusia, Gr. yepovσία, Ο γέρων (γεροντ-), an old man. Cf. senate, of similar origin.] A senate or council of elders in many ancient Dorian states, particularly that of Sparta. It was the aristocratic element in the Dorian polity, corresponding to the boule, or democratic senate, in most Ionic states. Sce gerontes. gervao (ger-vä'o), n. [Braz.] The Stachytarpheta Jamaicensis, a verbenaceous herb of the West Indies and South America, reputed to possess valuable medicinal properties. The leaves have been used to adulterate tea. gerver (jèr'ver), n. [Origin obscure.] A name of the spotted rusa deer. Also called gower. geryt, a. [ME. (equiv. to mod. E. *gyry), < *ger, *gere, *geer (also in comp. gerful, q. v.), < OF. gir Pr. gir Sp. Pg. It. giro, gyre, turn (see gyre, n.), +-y1.] Changeable; fickle. = = gery Right so gan gery Venus overcaste Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 678. His second hawke waxed gerye, And was with flying wery. Skelton, Ware the Hawke. Geryonia (jer-i-o'ni-ä), n. [NL. (Péron and Lesueur, 1809), L. Geryon, Gr. Improv, Geryon, a three-bodied giant, lit. 'the shouter,' ynpiew, cry, shout.] The typical genus of the family Geryoniida. It is characterized by 6 radial canals without a lingual cone, and by having the process of the auditory organ inclosed in a vesicle lying in the gelatinous substance of the disk, near the edge of the latter. G. umbella is an example. Geryoniidæ (jer i-o-nī'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., < Geryonia + -ida.] A family of Trachymedusa. It is characterized by an umbrella with cartilaginous ridges, 8 to 12 marginal peroniæ and as many acoustic vesicles, 4 to 6 tubular marginal tentacles, with as many canals leading into the radial canal, foliaceous gonads, and a long cylindroconic manubrium or gastric pedicle with a proboscis-like oral portion. Also written Geryonida. Eschscholtz, 1829. = gesettes-landt, n. Same as gafol-land. gesith (AS. pron. ge-seтH'), n. [AS. gesith, a companion, comrade, in particular, as in def. (= OS. gisith OHG. gisindo, MHG. gesinde Goth. gasinthja, a companion), < ge-, implying 'together' (see i-), + sith, a journey: see sithel and send.] In Anglo-Saxon England, one of the comitatus or personal following of a noble, and especially of the king. The king's gesiths stood in close relation to his person, depended upon his favor, and formed the basis of the order of thanes or lower nobility. The most eminent of the persons who, in the relation of gesith or comes to the king, held portions of folkland or of royal demesne, and were bound to him by the oath of fealty. Stubbs, Const. Hist., § 52. The "comrade," on the other hand-the gesith or thegn as he was called-bound himself to follow and fight for his lord. J. R. Green, Making of Eng., p. 168. geslingt, n. An obsolete variant of gosling. Gesnera (jes'ne-rä), n. [NL., named after Conrad von Gesner: see Gesnerian.] A genus of plants, the type of the order Gesneracea, including about 50 species of tropical America, mostly Brazilian. They have tuberous roots, herbaceous stems with opposite leaves, and usually red or orange flowers. Most of the species are ornamental, and several are frequent in greenhouses. Gesneracea (jes-ne-rā ́sē-ē), n. pl. [NL., fem. pl. of gesneraceus: see gesneraceous.] An order of gamopetalous exogens, with irregular corollas, didynamous stamens, and a one-celled Ovary with two parietal many-seeded placentæ. It is nearly allied to the Scrophulariacea. It includes about 70 genera and 700 species, natives of tropical or subtropical regions, especially of America. They are herbs or shrubs, with usually opposite leaves, and with large, showy, and often very handsome flowers. Among the larger genera are Gesnera, Gloxinia, Cyrtandra, Eschy; nanthus, and Achimenes, many species of which are found in cultivation. The succulent fruits of some species are edible. gesneraceous (jes-ne-ra'shius), a. [< NL. gesneraceus; Gesnera, q. v.] Belonging or pertaining to the Gesneracea. Gesneria (jes-nē ́ri-ä), n. [NL., named after Conrad von Gesner: see Gesnerian.] In zool.: (a) A genus of pyralid moths: same as Scoparia. Hübner, 1816. (b) A genus of dipterous insects, of the family Muscida. Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830. Gesnerian (ges-nē'ri-an), a. [< Gesner + -ian.] Pertaining to Conrad von Gesner (otherwise written Gessner), a naturalist and scholar of Zürich (1516-65), author of important works on zoölogy, botany, medicine, philology, etc. gesset, v. A Middle English form of guess1. gesso (jes'so), n. [It., plaster, chalk, lime, < L. gypsum, plaster: see gypsum.] In the fine arts: (a) A prepared mass or surface of plaster, usually as a ground for painting. When a smooth stone surface was to be painted, a thin coat of whitening or fine gesso was laid as a ground. Encyc. Brit., XVII. 46. Hence, by extension- (b) Any preparation applied to a surface to fit it to receive painting. [A shield] is formed of wood faced with canvas, on which is laid a gesso to receive the painting and gilding. J. Hewitt, Ancient Armour, III. 497. Gesso duro [It.: gesso, plaster; duro, hard], a fine prepared hard plaster used for works of sculpture; hence, a bas-relief composed of this material, generally colored as if in imitation of terra-cotta, and mounted in a frame wholly or in part of carved wood. These bas-reliefs are not uncommon in Italy; among them are works of some of the great masters of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen turies. The fine gesso duro of this relief, . . . which is in some respects superior to the marble, perhaps represents the master's original conception. C. C. Perkins, Italian Sculpture, p. 123, note. gest1t, ". A Middle English form of guest1. 2502 = gest2+ (jest), n. [< ME. gest, geste, a deed, achievement, event, more commonly a story of deeds or adventures, an entertaining tale (now used only in this sense, and spelled jest: see jest), < ÖF. geste, F. geste Sp. Pg. It. gesta (usually as pl.), < ML. gesta, a deed, deeds, fem. (sc. res, thing) or neut. pl. of L. gestus, done, pp. of gerere, bear, carry, carry on, do, perform: see gerent, and cf. gests, etc.] 1. That which is done; an act, deed, or achievement. The gests of kings, great captains, and sad wars. B. Jonson, tr. of Horace's Art of Poetry. And surely no ceremonies of dedication, no, not of Solomon's temple itself, are comparable to those sacred gests whereby this place was sanctified. Mede, Churches. 2. A tale of achievement or adventure; a story; gesticular (jes-tik'ü-lär), a. [< L. gesticulus, a a romance. The halle was al ful, ywis, Of hem that writen olde gestes, As ben on trees rokes nestes. Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1515. Ac for I can noither tabre ne trompe ne telle none gestes, Farten, ne fythelen at festes, ne harpen, Iape ne Iogly ne gentlych pype. Piers Plowman (B), xiii. 230. This Egea, the gest sais, was a iust lady. Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), l. 12772. gest2t, . i. [< ME. gesten; from the noun. Now used in a particular sense, and spelled jest, q. v.] To tell stories or romances. But trusteth wel, I am a Southren man, I haue joye forto gest Of the lambe of love with-oute othe. Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 211. gest3+ (jest), n. [< F. geste Sp. Pg. It. gesto, L. gestus, carriage, posture, gesture, gerere, bear, carry, refl. bear oneself, behave: see gest2.] 1. Bearing; carriage of one's person; deportment. 2. and much increast Gesture. Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Trophies. gest4t, n. [A var. of gist1.] 1. A stage, rest, or stop in traveling: same as gist1. When at Bohemia You take my lord, I'll give him my commission, To let him there a month, behind the gest Prefix'd for 's parting. Shak., W. T., i. 2. 2. A list of the several stages of a journey; an itinerary; specifically, a roll or journal of the several days and stages prearranged for a royal progress in England. Many such gests are extant in the heralds' office. gestant (jes'tant), a. [< L. gestan(t-)s, ppr. of gestare, bear, carry, freq. of gerere, pp. gestus, bear, carry: see gerent, gest2, gest3.] Burdened; charged; laden; pregnant: as, "clouds gestant with heat," Mrs. Browning. [Rare.] gestation (jes-ta'shon), n. [= F. gestation It. gestazione, < L. gestatio(n-), a carrying, < gestare, bear, carry: see gestant.] 1t. A bearing or carrying; exercise by being carried. Gestation in a carriage or wagon. = Sir T. Elyot, Castle of Health, ii. 34. But nothing is there more holesome than walking and gestation; which is an exercise performed many waies. Holland, tr. of Pliny, xxviii. 4. The gestation of rings upon this hand and finger. Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., iv. 4. 2. The act or condition of carrying young in the womb from conception to delivery; preg nancy. gesture, +-ar2.] Full of or characterized by varied action or motion; gesticulatory. [Rare.] Electricity. . . is passing, glancing, gesticular. Emerson, Eng. Traits, xiii. gesticulate (jes-tik'u-lat), v., pret. and pp. gesticulated, ppr. gesticulating. [L. gesticulatus, pp. of gesticulari (> It. gesticolare Pg. Sp. gesticular F. gesticuler), make mimic gestures, gesticulus (found first in LL.), a mimic gesture, dim. of gestus, a gesture: see gest3.] I. intrans. To make gestures; express thoughts or desires, or emphasize or illustrate speech, by motions of the body or any part of it, especially the hands and arms. They [the Spaniards] talk louder, and argue with more vehemence than even the French or Italians, and gesticu late with equal, if not superior, eagerness. H. Swinburne, Travels through Spain, xlii. II. trans. To express or represent by gestures; imitate; enact. [Rare.] To act the crimes these whippers reprehend, B. Jonson, Poetaster, To the Reader. The whole day passed in shouting and gesticulating our peaceful intentions to the crowd assembled on the heights on the opposite side of the river. Sir S. W. Baker, Heart of Africa, p. 227. gesticulation (jes-tik-u-lā'shon), n. [= F. gesticulation = Sp. gesticulacion = Pg. gesticulação = It. gesticulazione, gesticolazione, L. gesticulatio(n-), gesticulari, gesticulate: see gesticulate.] 1. The act or practice of gesticulating or making gestures: as, his gesticulation is awkward. Gesticulation, which is an emotional manifestation, must be distinguished from pantomime, which is part of intellectual language. Pop. Sci. Mo., XXV. 176. 2. A gesture; an expressive motion of the head, body, or limbs. At which [a strange and sudden music], they fell into a magical dance, full of præposterous change and gesticulations. B. Jonson, Masque of Queens. Indeed, that standing is not so simple a business as we imagine it to be is evident from the gesticulations of a drunken man, who has lost the government of the centre of gravity. Paley, Nat. Theol., xi. =Syn. See gesture. gesticulator (jes-tik ́ū-lā-tor), n. [= F. gesticulateur = Pg. gesticulador It. gesticolatore, <LL. gesticulator, L. gesticulari, gesticulate: see gesticulate.] One who gesticulates, or makes gestures or postures. The word minstrel had had a separate history before it became synonymous (as in the Catholicon Anglicum of 1843) with gesticulator, histrio, joculator, and other names for strolling entertainers. Encyc. Brit., XVI. 480. He was a violent partisan of the Conservatives, and being a good stutterer, an excitable character, and a violent gesticulator, it soon became evident that he was in some measure the butt of his companions. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 552. gesticulatory (jes-tik'u-la-to-ri), a. [< gesticurepresenting by gestures. late+-ory.] Of or pertaining to gesticulation; gestiont, n. [<F. gestion, < L. gestio(n-), a managing, doing, performing, < gerere, pp. gestus, bear, carry, manage: see gest2, gest3.] 1. Oper The symptoms of spurious pregnancy are occasionally so close an imitation of those of true gestation as to presentation; orderly process. great difficulties in their diagnosis. Quain, Med. Dict. Dorsal gestation, the carrying of eggs or embryos in brood-pouches on the back, as is done by many batrachians, as of the genera Pipa, Nototrema, and others.-— Extra-uterine gestation, pregnancy in which the fetus lies outside of the uterus, as in the Fallopian tube or in the peritoneal cavity. Mammary or pouch gestation, the carrying of prematurely born young in the mammary pouch or marsupium, where they adhere to the nipples, as is usual with marsupial mammals. Oral gestation, the carrying of eggs in the mouth till they hatch, as is done by many fishes.- Uterine gestation, the ordinary gestation or pregnancy of mammals. gestatorium (jes-ta-to'ri-um), n.; pl. gestatoria (-a). [ML., < L. gestare, bear, carry: sec gestant.] In the middle ages, a portable object or utensil, specifically an ecclesiastical utensil, such as a portable shrine, a feretory for relics, or the like. Is she a woman that objects this sight, able to worke the chaos of the world into gestion? Chapman, Humorous Day's Mirth, p. 79. 2. In French law, administration in office. gestningt, ". [< ME. gestning, an entertainment, gest, guest: see guest.] Lodging; entertainment; hospitality. The Admiral haueth to his gestninge gestourt, ". [ME., also gestiour, now jester, q. v.] A story-teller; a narrator of exploits or adventures. Mynestralles, And gestiours, that tellen tales Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1198. gestour Fifty clodede [clothed] gestours, Launfal (Ritson's Metr. Rom., I.). Be in gesture & behauiour comely. very gesture. Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.), i. 71. There was speech in their dumbness, language in their Shak., W. T., v. 2. This for her shape I love; that for her face; This for her gesture or some other grace. Carew, The Spark. 2. A motion of the head, body, or limbs expressive of thought, sentiment, or passion; any action or posture intended to express a thought or a feeling, or to emphasize or illustrate what is said. Tullie saieth well: The gesture of man is the speech of his bodie; and therefore reason it is that, like as the speeche must agree to the mater, so must also the gesture agree to the minde. Sir T. Wilson, Art of Rhetoric, p. 225. Their gestures nimble, dark eyes flashing free. Byron, Childe Harold. He [Cheyte Sing] even took off his turban, and laid it in the lap of Hastings, a gesture which in India marks the most profound submission and devotion. Macaulay, Warren Hastings. His [D'Israeli's] gesture was abundant; he often appeared as if trying with what celerity he could move his body from one side to another, and throw his hands out and draw them in again. W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 150. The lower the intellectual condition of the speaker and the spoken-to, the more indispensable is the addition of tone and gesture. Whitney, Nat. and Origin of Lang., p. 294. 3t. Bearing; behavior, in a general sense. If you do love Rosalind so near the heart as your gesture cries it out, when your brother marries Aliena, shall you marry her? Shak., As you Like it, v. 2. =Syn. 2. Gesture, Gesticulation. These words may have the same meaning, but gesture is more common to represent the thing, while gesticulation generally represents the act, and especially vigorous, varied, and rapid action: as, rapid and abundant gesticulation; a slight gesture of impatience. We say with literal truth that a look, a tone, a gesture, is often more eloquent than elaborate speech. Whitney, Life and Growth of Lang., p. 283. Attendant on strong feeling, especially in constitutions young or robust, there is usually a great amount of mere bodily vehemence, as gesticulation, play of countenance, of voice, and so on. This counts as muscular work, and is an addition to brain work. A. Bain, Corr. of Forces, p. 230. gesture (jes'tür), v.; pret. and pp. gestured, ppr. gesturing. gesture, n.] I. intrans. To gesticulate; make gestures. For the plaiers, who were sent for out of Hetruria, as they daunced the measures to the minstrel and sound of flute, gestured not undecently withall, after the Tuscane fashion. Holland, tr. of Livy, p. 250. II. trans. To accompany or enforce with ges ture or action. Our attire disgraceth it; it is not orderly read nor gestured as beseemeth. Hooker, Eccles. Polity. gesture-language (jes'tur-lang"gwāj), n. A language of gestures; a body of signs for thought consisting of movements of the hands, arms, etc.; sign-language. The gesture-language, of a very considerable degree of development, of the prairie tribes of American Indians; or such signs as are the natural resort of those who by deafness are cut off from ordinary spoken intercourse with their fellows. Whitney, Encyc. Brit., XVIII. 767. gestureless (jes'tūr-les), a. [< gesture +-less.] Without gesture; free from gestures. gesturement (jes'tūr-ment), n. [< gesture + -ment.] The act of making gestures; gesticu lation. Meanwhile our poets in high parliament Sit watching every word and gesturement. Bp. Hall, Satires, I. iii. 46. gesturer (jes'tür-ér), n. One who gesticulates; an actor. [The poet] may likewise exercise the part of gesturer, as though he seemed to meddle in rude and common matters. W. Webbe, Eng. Poetry, p. 95. gesture-speech (jes'tūr-spēch), n. Same as gesture-language. [Rare.] Possessing a copious and voluble vocabulary, largely supplemented by gesture-speech, or shrug-language, and violating in their articulation the usual powers of written characters, they [French ornithologists] not only acquired a trick of Gallicizing technical words, but they also cultivated a characteristic habit of rising superior to orthography. Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, V., No. 4, 1880, p. 691. gesturoust (jes'tūr-us), a. [< gesture + -ous.] Using gestures; gesticulatory. 2503 Some be as toyinge, gesturous, and counterfeicting of any- = get I am not valiant neither, But every puny whipster gets my sword. Shak., Othello, v. 2. 9. To exert effort upon or in regard to; effect movement of or about: used with reference to a great variety of actions, and followed by a qualifying adverb: as, to get a piece of work along (carry it forward), get in hay, get a ship off from a bar, get out a book (procure its printing and publication) or a warrant (procure the issue of one), get together an army, get up a meeting, etc. We'll get in [into the farce] some hits at Sabbatarianism, . . . some bits of clap-trap. Shirley Brooks, Sooner or Later, I. 143. 10. In compound tense-phrases with have and had, used pleonastically (thus, I have got, I had got I have, I had) to indicate either (a) possession, as he has got a cold; what have you got in your hand? or (b) obligation or necessity, as he has got to go, you have got to obey (= he has to go, you have to obey, but colloquially with more emphatic meaning). geswarp (ges'wârp), n. See guess-warp. = Thei brought be-fore theym all the riche prise that thei I told you 'twas in vain to think of getting Money out 2. Specifically, to obtain by labor; earn; win I am a true labourer; I earn that I eat, get that I wear. 3. To beget; procreate; generate. 4. To acquire mental grasp or command of; 6. To cause or procure to be: with a past par- done. Those things I bid you do; get them dispatch'd. Thou hast got the face of a man. Herbert. Go, get you gon: hence, hence, vn-lucky Race! Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Lawe. To get a good offing. See offing.-To get by heart. See heart. To get ground. See ground1.- To get handt. See hand. To get in. (a) To lay up; store; provide: as, to get in one's fuel or flour. (b) To produce an effect by; make an impression with: as, to get in one's work. [Colloq.]-To get off. (a) To draw or pull off; haul away; remove; release: as, to get one's coat off; to quittal of; bring off in safety; clear. The Duke is coming: I don't find it certain, however, that the Pretender is got off. Walpole, Letters, II. 27. (c) To sell; dispose of: as, to get off goods. (d) To utter; deliver; perpetrate (usually implying a slur): as, to get off a poor joke. [Slang, U. S.]-To get on, to put on; draw or pull on; don, as a garment. Get on thy boots: we'll ride all night. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., v. 3. To get one's back up, to get one's dander up, to get one's gruel, to get one's monkey up, to get one's second breath, etc. See the nouns.-To get out. (a) To draw out; disengage, as a sword or a watch. (b) To produce; reveal; bring forth. Then take him to develop, if you can, We had come to Andover to get religion, and the pursuit of this object was seldom interfered with by such episodes as the one just related. Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past, p. 6. That glory-hallelujah variety of cunning or delusion, compounded of laziness and catalepsy, which is popular among the shouting sects of plantation darkies who git religion and fits twelve times a year. The Atlantic, XVIII. 79. To get the better end of. See end.—To get the better of. See the better (b), under better1, n.-To get the bulge on one, to get the dead-wood on one, to get to get the hang of, to get the head, to get the mitthe drop, to get the floor, to get the grand bounce, ten, etc. See the nouns. To get together, to gather up; collect. Get your apparel together, . . . meet presently at the palace. Shak., M. N. Ď., iv. 2. To get up. (a) To contrive; prepare; organize; arrange for: as, to get up an entertainment, an excursion party, etc. I see it is a trick Got up betwixt you and the woman there. Tennyson, Dora. This world's great show, that took in getting up Millions of years, they finish ere they sup. Lowell, Fitz Adam's Story. (b) To compile or write; prepare: as, to get up a petition or a report. (c) To pile up; stack; rick. If got up damp, it [barley] is liable to generate excessive heat. Encyc. Brit., IV. 266. (d) To study up; acquire a sufficient knowledge of: as, to get up a subject for dissertation or debate. It is comparatively easy for an author to get up any period with tolerable minuteness in externals, but readers and audiences find more difficulty in getting them down, though oblivion swallows scores of them at a gulp. Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 208. (e) To dress; array; equip: as, the costume or character was well got up; to get one's self up regardless of expense. [Colloq.] I arrived here in safety-in complexion like an Ethiopian serenader half got up, and so broiled and peppered that I was more like a devilled kidney than anything else I can think of. Lowell, Fireside Travels, p. 95. She isn't downright pretty either. But she's got up exquisitely. Mrs. Whitney, Leslie Goldthwaite, vii. (f) To do up, as muslins and laces; specifically, to clearstarch, iron, flute, etc. She got up Mrs. Reed's lace frills, and crimped her nightcap borders. Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, i, (gt) To make up; recover, Weston, quoted in Bradford's Plymouth Plantation, p. 115. I don't know what's the reason, but in England, if a II. intrans. 1. To make acquisition; gain. Whilst he was Secretary of State and Prime Minister he had gotten vastly, but spent it as hastily. Evelyn, Diary, Sept. 10, 1677. The priests get (though that is but for a time), but the king and the people lose. Penn, Liberty of Conscience, v. The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers. Wordsworth, Sonnets, i. 33. 2. To make progress in a specific direction or manner; come into a different state or relation; become or come to be: from the reflexive use of the transitive verb (see I., 7): followed by a modifying or explanatory word or phrase. See phrases below. Whi got thow not to horse, thow and thy peple? Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 384. Harold having once gotten into the Throne, he carried himself with great Valour and Justice for the Time he sate in it. Baker, Chronicles, p. 19. We weighed anchor and set sail, and before ten we gat through the Needles. Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 6. I saw at Monte Leone some antient inscriptions, and begun to be sensible that we were got into a very bad country for travelling. Pococke, Description of the East, II. ii. 201. I am not warm enough even now, but am gradually getting acclimated in that respect. Hawthorne, English Note-Books, I. 12. Men's wishes eventually get expressed in their faiths. H. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 177. 3. To go; start; be off. [Low, western U. S.] The driver finally mounted his box, . . . and, as he yelled to them [his horses] to git, . . . all started on a run. Rocky Mountains, p. 149. 4. To be able; manage: used with an infinitive: as, I didn't get to go. [Colloq., Pennsylvania, U.S.]-To get aboard. See aboard1.-To get above, to rise superior to; look down upon as, he is getting above his business. To get ahead, to advance; prosper. To get along, to make progress; fare.-To get asleep, to fall asleep.-To get at, to reach; come to; attain; find out: as, to get at a man in a crowd; to get at the exact truth about anything. We get at conclusions which are as nearly true as experiment can show, and sometimes which are a great deal more correct than direct experiment can be. W. K. Clifford, Lectures, I. 204. To get away, to depart; quit; leave. To get behind, to lose ground; fall in the rear or in arrears: as, he is getting behind in his work or his payments. To get by, to pass; get past. I am afeard they will know me: would I could get by them! 2504 This is Prof. Glavinie's evidence, which it is impossible Well, Sir Fretful, I wish you may be able to get rid as gewgaw Thy deeds [shall be] played i' thy lifetime by the best companies of actors, and be called their get-penny. Marston, Jonson, and Chapman, Eastward Ho, iv. 1. But the Gunpowder Plot, there was a get-penny! I have presented that to an eighteen or twentypence audience, nine times in an afternoon. B. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v. 1. getront, n. An obsolete form of gittern. gettable, a. See getable. ence and religion will of itself be one of the greatest ben-getter (get'èr), n. 1. One who gets, gains, obtains, or acquires. efits ever conferred upon the human race. J. Fiske, Idea of God, p. 134. To get round. (a) [Round, adv.] To go from place to Revolve the getter's joy and loser's pain, A tough waggon, a moderate load, four good horses, and 2. One who begets or procreates. One from the land of cakes sought to get round a right Things that pass thus soon out of the Stomach, Isus To get through. (a) To pass through and reach a point Troops after a forced march of twenty miles are not in A young woman who would get up at five o'clock in the He... set himself to resist; but I had in short space I got on horseback within ten minutes after I got your P. Withers, Aristarchus (ed. 1822), p. 130.) No get of any such sire shall be exempt, etc. B. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, ii. 2. an entrance; make way into a place, or to an inner or a steamer got in to-day. (b) In falconry, to go up to a hawk I was about getting on for twelve when father first bought me a concertina. Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, III. 193. To get on the high horse. See horse.-To get on with, to keep on satisfactory or friendly terms with: as, there is no getting on with a suspicious man. There is no trouble in getting on with Butler. He is just as well content with half a loaf as he would be with the whole. S. Bowles, in Merriam, II. 421. To get out. (a) To escape, as from confinement or embarrassment; depart; go away; clear out: as, take your hat, and get out; you were lucky to get out of their clutches without loss. When they were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a Town before them. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 153. (b) To come out; leak out; become known as, the secret soon got out. To get over. (a) To surmount; overcome: as, to get over a wall; to get over difficulties. Some [travelers] . . . get over the prejudices of educa conform to such as are either innocent or convenient in the several countries they visit. getent. An obsolete past participle of get1. getlesst, a. [< ME. gettelesse; < get1 + -less.] frightened]. zif we gettlesse goo home, the kyng wille be grevede, ter. Harl. MS., 838, quoted in Archæologia, XXII. 396. tion, of being bigotted to their own [customs), and learn to get-pennyt (get'pen"i), n. [< get1, v., + obj. penny. Cf. catchpenny.] Something by which money is gained; a catchpenny. Pococke, Description of the East, II. ii, 277. a getter of more basShak., Cor., iv. 5. 3. One employed in digging, or in getting out by digging: as, a coal-getter. The set who succeed the holers are called getters. These Get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. 2. Procreation; generation.-3. Gain; profit. He hath been long, though he had but little gettings, Drawing together, sir. Fletcher, Spanish Curate, iv. 5. To my great discontent, do find that my gettings this year have been 5731. less than my last. Pepys, Diary, III. 37. getting-rock (get'ing-rok), n. In coal-mining, clay ironstone which forms the roof of the coal, and is so situated that it can be got or mined at the same time with the coal itself. [Eng.] get-up (get'up), n. [< get up, verbal phrase: see get1.] 1. Equipment; dress; appearance; style. There is an air of pastoral simplicity about their whole 2. The general manner or style of production; A hand-book as correct in its statements as this one is neat in its get-up. The American, XII. 106. We can do little more than enumerate the publications of the Sunday School Union. They are all attractive in form and get-up, and suitable in character for their more especial purpose. Brit. Quarterly Rev., LXXXIII. 231. [Colloq. in both senses.] Geum (je'um), n. [L., the herb-bennet, avens.] der Rosacea, resembling Potentilla, but with A genus of perennial herbs, of the natural orerect seeds and long, persistent, geniculate or plumose styles. There are about 30 species, natives of temperate and frigid countries, a dozen of which are found in the United States. The roots of the avens or herb-bennet, G. urbanum, of Europe, and of the water. avens, G. rivale, of Europe, Asia, and North America, have astringent and tonic properties and a clove-like odor, and are used medicinally, and from their reddish-brown color are sometimes known by the names of chocolate-root and Indian chocolate. G. Chiloense, of Chili, with scarlet gevet, v. An obsolete form of givel. gewgaw (gū ́gâ), n. and a. [Also (in def. 3) gewgow; early mod. E. gugaw, gygaw, gewgaud, etc.; corrupted from ME. givegove (Ancren Riwle), a gewgaw, trifle, prob. a redupl. form, with the usual variation of vowel, of give, geve, geove, often with initial palatal, zive, zeve, zeove, second element, cf. AS. geaju, a gift (only in a gift, AS. gifu, a gift, gifan, give; for the dat. gæfe, gen. pl. geafena), equiv. to gifu, a gift, and Icel. -gjöf in gyli-gjöf, showy gifts, gewgaws. A similar reduplication appears in thing of little worth; a toy; a bauble; a gaudy giffgaff, q. v.] I. n. 1. A showy trifle; a pretty plaything or ornament. or dark-crimson flowers, is cultivated for ornament. And where as men do honour you as auncient persones, A heavy gewgaw, call'd a crown, that spread Pope, Satires of Donne, iv. 209. 2t. A pipe or flute. |