gist

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɪst/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪst

The noun is derived from Old French gist, a noun use of the third person singular indicative of gesir (“to lie down”) (modern French gésir; compare Anglo-Norman (cest) action gist (literally “(law) (this) action lies”)),[1] from Latin iacēre,[2] the present active infinitive of iaceō (“to lie down, lie prostrate, recline”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- (“to throw”) (probably in the sense of something being thrown down).

The verb is derived from the noun.[3]

gist (countable and uncountable, plural gists)

1. (countable) The main idea or substance, or the most essential part, of a longer or more complicated matter; the crux, the heart, the pith.

   Synonyms: essence, quintessence; see also Thesaurus:gist

   I don't wanna belabor my point; I'm sure you get the gist.

   • 1948, Carl Sandburg, “Store We Up therefore Patience”, in Remembrance Rock, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & World, →OCLC, part 2, page 103:

     Should they live and build their church in the American wilderness, their worst dangers would rise in and among themselves rather than outside. That was the gist of the lesson from their pastor and "wellwiller" John Robinson.

   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XIX, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

     He was handing her something in an envelope, and she was saying “Oh, Jeeves, you've saved a human life,” and he was saying “Not at all, miss.” The gist, of course, escaped me, but I had no leisure to probe into gists.

   • 1988, Baruch Halpern, “Sisera and Old Lace: The Case of Deborah and Yael”, in The First Historians: The Hebrew Bible and History, San Francisco, Calif.: Harper & Row, →ISBN, part 1 (Romance and Historiography: Two Cases of Historiography in Microcosm), page 97:

     The gists of the reports, however, their logic, their structural coherence, are molded by a concern to reconstruct the past, by antiquarian interest.

   • 1994 July 15 (first performance), Nicky Silver, “The Food Chain”, in Etiquette and Vitriol, The Food Chain and Other Plays, New York, N.Y.: Theatre Communications Group, published November 1996, →ISBN, scene i (Amanda), page 10:

     And the work was going very well. I was really just vomiting images like spoiled sushi (that may be an ill-considered metaphor, but you get my gist).

   • 2003, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter V, in David McDuff, transl., Crime and Punishment, revised edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, part 2, page 183:

     I don't remember his exact words, but the gist of it was that he wanted it all for nothing, as quickly as possible, without any effort.

   • 2004, Paul Dehn Carleton, “Un- to CONSCIOUSness”, in Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-minded Skeptics of Catholic, and Other Christian, Jewish & Muslim Backgrounds, Pontiac, Mich.: Carleton House, →ISBN, part II (Science Concepts), page 131:

     There's evidence that even our unconscious efficiently only stores the gists of memories and that to fill in details our conscious fabricates them.

2. (countable, law, dated) The essential ground for action in a lawsuit, without which there is no cause of action; the gravamen.
   • 1769, William Blackstone, “Of Plea, and Issue”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 333:

     [T]heſe charges, of a traiterous or felonious intent, are the points and very giſt of the indictment, and muſt be anſvvered directly, by the general negative, not guilty; […]

   • 1791 August 3, [Edmund Burke], An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs, […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 30:

     [H]e is guilty of a dereliction of opinions that are true and laudable. This is the great giſt of the charge againſt him.

   • 1839, John Bouvier, “GIST”, in A Law Dictionary, […], volumes I (A–K), Philadelphia, Pa.: T. & J. W. Johnson, […], successors to Nicklin & Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 445, column 1:

     But it is observable that the substance or gist of the action is not always the principal cause of the plaintiff's complaint in point of fact, nor that on which he recovers all or the greatest part of his damages. It frequently happens that upon that part of his declaration which contains the substance or gist of the action he recovers nominal damages, and he gets his principal satisfaction on account of matters altogether collateral thereto.

   • [1859, F. Laun [pseudonym], “The King of Hayti. From the German. Chapter III. ‘In the Second Place’—Dinner is on the Table.”, in Thomas De Quincey, transl., Speculations Literary and Philosophic: With German Tales and Other Narrative Papers (De Quincey’s Works; XII), London: James Hogg & Sons, →OCLC, page 41:

     Naturally, therefore, conceiving that the gite of the lawyer's reasoning was to defend the want of resemblance as an admitted fact, which it would be useless to deny, the worthy magistrate closed the pleadings, and gave sentence against Mr Whelp, the plaintiff.]

3. (uncountable, Nigeria) Gossip, rumour; (countable) an instance of this.

gist (third-person singular simple present gists, present participle gisting, simple past and past participle gisted)

1. (transitive) To extract and present the main ideas or substance, or the most essential parts of (a document, piece of writing, etc.); to abridge, to summarize.

   Synonyms: condense, précis

   • 1872 August 7, J. H. Hoose, “Professional Instruction in Normal Schools”, in The Addresses and Journal of Proceedings of the National Educational Association, Session of the Year 1872, at Boston, Massachusetts, Peoria, Ill.: N. C. Nason, […] [for the National Education Association], published 1873, →OCLC, page 201:

     There are two general ways of getting information, and these two general ways may be summed up in this: take one branch of study and its principles are all gisted, they have been gisted by the accumulated thought of years gone by. These gisted thoughts are axioms, or received principles, and the pupils of the day take these axioms or principles, and accept them as facts, and apply them to this, that or the other individual case.

2. (intransitive, Nigeria) To talk idly; chat; also, to gossip.

From Middle English giste, geste (“resting or stopping place, hostel, lodgings; food, refreshment; (figurative) seat of the soul”),[4] from Old French giste (“resting place”) (modern French gîte (“lodging, shelter; self-catering holiday home”)), a noun use of the past participle form of gesir (“to lie down”): see etymology 1.[5]

gist (plural gists)

1. (obsolete) A stop for lodging or rest in a journey, or the place where this happens; a rest.
   • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book X.] Of Cranes, Storkes, Swans, Quailes, the Glotis, and Strange Birds of Other Countries.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, →OCLC, page 282:

     Theſe Quailes have their ſet giſts, to vvit, ordinarie reſting and baiting places.

   • 1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XLIV]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC, page 958:

     But the Conſul after that he had intelligence that Perſeus had croſſed over to Samothracia, departed from Pella, and at the fourth giſt and journey that he made, came to Amphipolis.

• gest

• gists (“roll reciting the several stages of a royal progress”)

• gist (Nigerian term) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• gist (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• gist in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• John Bouvier (1839) “GIST”, in A Law Dictionary, […], volumes I (A–K), Philadelphia, Pa.: T. & J. W. Johnson, […], successors to Nicklin & Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 445, column 1.
• “gist”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• GTis, ISTG, gits, stig, tigs

• IPA^(key): /ɣɪst/
• Hyphenation: gist
• Rhymes: -ɪst

From Middle Dutch gest, gist, from Old Dutch *gest, *gist, from Proto-West Germanic *jestu, from Proto-Germanic *jestuz.

gist f (plural gisten)

1. yeast

• biergist
• gisten
• gistzwam

• Afrikaans: gis

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

gist

1. inflection of gisten:
   1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

gist

1. inflection of gissen:
   1. second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. (archaic) plural imperative

gist

1. Alternative form of gest

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

gist

1. gossip, rumour
   • (Can we date this quote?), Michael Oguttu, “Zana dey great!”, in Storybooks African Languages‎:

     I dey tell my small brother all the gist from school.

     And I make sure little brother knows all the school news.

gist

1. third-person singular present indicative of gesir

From Latin iūstus, jūstus.

gist m (feminine singular gista, masculine plural gists, feminine plural gistas)

1. right

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ɡiːsd/, [ɡiːst]
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ɡɪsd/, [ɡɪst]

gist

1. Soft mutation of cist.

• jist, jeist

From Middle English juste, from Old French juste.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɪst/

gist

1. just, just now
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 84:

     Yerstey w'had a baree, gist ing oor hoane,

     Yesterday we had a goal just in our hand.

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 41