Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GES'TUR-ED, pp.

Accompanied with gesture or action.

GES'TURE-LESS, a.

Free from gestures.

GES'TURE-MENT, n.

Act of making gestures.

GES'TUR-ING, ppr.

Accompanying with gesture or action.

GET, v.i.

To arrive at any place or state; followed by some modifying word, and sometimes implying difficulty or labor; as, To get away or away from, to depart; to quit; to leave; or to disengage one's self from. To get among, to arrive in the midst of; to become one of a number. To get before, to arrive in front, or more forward. To get behind, to fall in the rear; to lag. To get back, to arrive at the place from which one departed; to return. To get clear, to disengage one's self; to be released as from confinement, obligation or burden; also, to be freed from danger or embarrassment. To get down, to descend; to come from an elevation. To get home, to arrive at one's dwelling. To get in or into, to arrive within an inclosure, or a mixed body; to pass in; to insinuate one's self. To get loose or free, to disengage one's self; to be released from confinement. To get off, to escape; to depart; to get clear; also, to alight; to descend from. To get out, to depart from an inclosed place or from confinement; to escape; to free one's self from embarrassment. To get along, to proceed; to advance. To get rid of, to disengage one's self from; also, to shift off; to remove. To get together, to meet; to assemble; to convene. To get up, to arise; to rise from a bed or a seat; also, to ascend; to climb. To get through, to pass through and reach a point beyond any thing; also, to finish; to accomplish. To get quit of, to get rid of; to shift off, or to disengage one's self from. To get forward, to proceed; to advance; also, to prosper; to advance in wealth. To get near, to approach within a small distance. To get ahead, to advance; to prosper. To get on, to proceed; to advance. To get a mile or other distance, to pass over it in traveling. To get at, to reach; to make way to. To get asleep, to fall asleep. To get drunk, to become intoxicated. To get between, to arrive between. To get to, to reach; to arrive.

GET, v.t. [pret. got, (gat, obs.) pp. got, gotten. Sax. getan, gytan, or geatan, to get; agytan, to know or understand; angitan, andgitan, to find, to understand. The Danish has forgietter, to forget, but gietter signifies to guess, or to suppose, to think; the Swedish also has förgäta, to forget, to give to oblivion, ex animo ejicere. The simple verb gietter, gäta, coincides with the D. gieten, G. giessen, to cast, to pour out, to found, as vessels of metal, Sax. geotan. To get, then, is primarily, to throw, and with respect to acquisition, it is to rush on and seize. The Italian has cattare, to get; raccattare, to regain, to acquire. Qu. Sp. rescatar, Port. resgatar, to redeem, to ransom. See Rescue.]

1. To procure; to obtain; to gain possession of, by almost any means. We get favor by kindness; we get wealth by industry and economy; we get land by purchase; we get poise by good conduct; and we get blame by doing injustice. The merchant should get a profit on his goods; the laborer should get a due reward for his labor; most men get what they can for their goods or for their services. Get differs from acquire, as it does not always express permanence of possession, which is the appropriate sense of acquire. We get a book or a loaf of bread by borrowing, we do not acquire it; but we get or acquire an estate.
2. To have. Thou hast got the face of a man. Herbert. This is a most common, but gross abuse of this word. We constantly hear it said, I have got no corn, I have got no money, she has got a fair complexion, when the person means only, I have no corn, I have no money, she has a fair complexion.
3. To beget; to procreate; to generate. Locke.
4. To learn; as, to get a lesson.
5. To prevail on; to induce; to persuade. Though the king could not get him to engage in a life of business. Spectator. [This is not elegant.]
6. To procure to be. We could not get the work done. [Not elegant.] To get off, to put off; to take or pull off; as, to get of a garment; also, to remove; as, to get off a ship from shoals. To sell; to dispose of; as, to get off goods. To get on, to put on; to draw or pull on; as, to get on a coat; to get on boots. To get in, to collect and shelter; to bring under cover; as, to get in corn. To get out, to draw forth; as, to get out a secret. To draw out; to disengage. To get the day, to win; to conquer; to gain the victory. To get together, to collect; to amass. To get over, to surmount; to conquer; to pass without being obstructed; as, to get over difficulties; also, to recover; as, to get over sickness. To get above, to surmount; to surpass. To get up, to prepare and introduce upon the stage; to bring forward. With a pronoun following, it signifies to betake; to remove; to go; as, get you to bed; get thee out of the land. But this mode of expression can hardly be deemed elegant.

GET'TER, n.

1. One who gets, gains, obtains or acquires.
2. One who begets or procreates.

GET'TING, n.

1. The act of obtaining, gaining or acquiring; acquisition. Get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Prov. iv.
2. Gain profit. Swift.

GET'TING, ppr.

Obtaining; procuring; gaining; winning; begetting.

GEW'GAW, a.

Showy; without value. Law.

GEW'GAW, n. [Qu. Sax. ge-gaf, a trifle, or Fr. joujou, a plaything, or from the root of gaud, joy, jewel.]

A showy trifle; a pretty thing of little worth; a toy; a bauble; a splendid plaything. A heavy gewgaw, called a crown. Dryden.

GEY'SER, n.

The name of a boiling fountain in Iceland. Mantell.

GHAST'FUL, a. [See Ghastly.]

Dreary; dismal; fit for walking ghosts. [Obs.] Spenser.

GHAST'FUL-LY, adv.

Frightfully. Pope.

GHAST'LI-NESS, n. [from ghastly.]

Horror of countenance; a deathlike look; resemblance of a ghost; paleness.

GHAST'LY, a. [Sax. gastlic, from gast, spirit, G. geist, D. geest. In Sax. gast is both a ghost and a guest, both from the same radical sense, to move, to rush; Ir. gaisim, to flow; Eng. gush, gust.]

Like a ghost in appearance; deathlike; pale; dismal; as, a ghastly face; ghastly smiles. Milton. 2. Horrible; shocking; dreadful. Mangled with ghastly wounds. Milton.

GHAST'NESS, n.

Ghastliness. [Not used.] Shak.

GHAUT, n.

1. In the East Indies, a pass through a mountain; also, a range or chain of hills.
2. Stairs descending to a river. Malcom.

GHER'KIN, n. [G. gurke, a cucumber.]

A small pickled cucumber. Skinner.

GHESS, v. [or n. for Guess. Not used.]

GHOST, n. [Sax. gast; G. geist; D. geest; Ir. gasda. See Ghastly.]

1. Spirit; the soul of man. Shak. In this sense seldom used. But hence,
2. The soul of a deceased person; the soul or spirit separate from the body; an apparition. The mighty ghosts of our great Harrys rose. Dryden. To give up the ghost, is to die; to yield up the breath or spirit; to expire. Scripture. The Holy Ghost, is the third person in the adorable Trinity. Scripture.

GHOST, v.i.

To die; to expire. [Obs.] Sidney.

GHOST, v.t.

To haunt with an apparition. [Obs.] Shak.

GHOST'LESS, a.

Without life or spirit. [Not used.] Sherwood.

GHOST'LIKE, a.

Withered; having sunken eyes; ghastly. Sherwood.