Gay Gay adjective [ Compar. Gayer ; superl. Gayest .] [ French gai , perhaps from Old High German g...hi swift, rapid, German gäh , jäh , steep, hasty; or confer Old High German w...hi beatiful, good. Confer Jay .] 1. Excited with merriment; manifesting sportiveness or delight; inspiring delight; livery; merry.

Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay .

Pope.

Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed.

Gray. 2. Brilliant in colors; splendid; fine; richly dressed.

Why is my neighbor's wife so gay ?

Chaucer.

A bevy of fair women, richly gay
In gems and wanton dress!

Milton. 3. Loose; dissipated; lewd. [ Colloq.] Syn. -- Merry; gleeful; blithe; airy; lively; sprightly, sportive; light-hearted; frolicsome; jolly; jovial; joyous; joyful; glad; showy; splendid; vivacious.

Gay Gay noun An ornament [ Obsolete] L'Estrange.

Gayal Gay"al noun [ Native name.] (Zoology) A Southern Asiatic species of wild cattle ( Bibos frontalis ).

Gaydiang Gay"di·ang noun (Nautical) A vessel of Anam, with two or three masts, lofty triangular sails, and in construction somewhat resembling a Chinese junk.

Gayety Gay"e·ty noun ; plural Gayeties [ Written also gaiety .] [ French gaieté . See Gay , adjective ] 1. The state of being gay; merriment; mirth; acts or entertainments prompted by, or inspiring, merry delight; -- used often in the plural; as, the gayeties of the season. 2. Finery; show; as, the gayety of dress. Syn. -- Liveliness; mirth; animation; vivacity; glee; blithesomeness; sprightliness; jollity. See Liveliness .

Gayley process Gay"ley proc"ess (Medicine) The process of removing moisture from the blast of an iron blast furnace by reducing its temperature so far that it will not remain suspended as vapor in the blast current, but will be deposited as snow in the cooling apparatus. The resultant uniformly dehydrated blast effects great economy in fuel consumption, and promotes regularity of furnace operation, and certainty of furnace control.

Gaylussite Gay"lus·site` noun [ Named after Gay-Lussac , the French chemist.] (Min.) A yellowish white, translucent mineral, consisting of the carbonates of lime and soda, with water.

Gayly Gay"ly adverb 1. With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully. 2. Finely; splendidly; showily; as, ladies gayly dressed; a flower gayly blooming. Pope.

Gayne Gayne intransitive verb [ See Gain .] To avail. [ Obsolete]

Gayness Gay"ness noun Gayety; finery. [ R.]

Gaysome Gay"some adjective Full of gayety. Mir. for Mag.

Gaytre Gay"tre noun [ See Gaitre .] The dogwood tree. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Gaze Gaze (gāz) intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Gazed (gāzd); present participle & verbal noun Gazing .] [ Middle English gasen , akin to dial. Swedish gasa , confer Goth. us- gaisjan to terrify, us- geisnan to be terrified. Confer Aghast , Ghastly , Ghost , Hesitate .] To fix the eyes in a steady and earnest look; to look with eagerness or curiosity, as in admiration, astonishment, or with studious attention.

Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?

Acts i. 11. Syn. -- To gape; stare; look. -- To Gaze , Gape , Stare . To gaze is to look with fixed and prolonged attention, awakened by excited interest or elevated emotion; to gape is to look fixedly, with open mouth and feelings of ignorant wonder; to stare is to look with the fixedness of insolence or of idiocy. The lover of nature gazes with delight on the beauties of the landscape; the rustic gapes with wonder at the strange sights of a large city; the idiot stares on those around with a vacant look.

Gaze Gaze transitive verb To view with attention; to gaze on. [ R.]

And gazed a while the ample sky.

Milton.

Gaze Gaze noun 1. A fixed look; a look of eagerness, wonder, or admiration; a continued look of attention.

With secret gaze
Or open admiration him behold.

Milton. 2. The object gazed on.

Made of my enemies the scorn and gaze .

Milton. At gaze (a) (Her.) With the face turned directly to the front; -- said of the figures of the stag, hart, buck, or hind, when borne, in this position, upon an escutcheon. (b) In a position expressing sudden fear or surprise; -- a term used in stag hunting to describe the manner of a stag when he first hears the hounds and gazes round in apprehension of some hidden danger; hence, standing agape; idly or stupidly gazing.

I that rather held it better men should perish one by one,
Than that earth should stand at gaze like Joshua's moon in Ajalon!

Tennyson.

Gazeebo Ga·zee"bo noun [ Humorously formed from gaze .] A summerhouse so situated as to command an extensive prospect. [ Colloq.]

Gazeful Gaze"ful adjective Gazing. [ R.] Spenser.

Gazehound Gaze"hound` noun A hound that pursues by the sight rather than by the scent. Sir W. Scott.

Gazel Ga"zel noun The black currant; also, the wild plum. [ Prov. Eng.]

Gazel Ga·zel" noun (Zoology) See Gazelle .

Gazelle Ga·zelle" noun [ French gazelle , Old French also, gazel ; confer Spanish gacela , Pr. gazella , Italian gazella ; all from Arabic ghaz...l a wild goat.] (Zoology) One of several small, swift, elegantly formed species of antelope, of the genus Gazella , esp. G. dorcas ; -- called also algazel , corinne , korin , and kevel . The gazelles are celebrated for the luster and soft expression of their eyes. [ Written also gazel .] » The common species of Northern Africa ( Gazella dorcas ); the Arabian gazelle, or ariel ( G. Arabica ); the mohr of West Africa ( G. mohr ); the Indian ( G. Bennetti ); the ahu or Persian ( G. subgutturosa ); and the springbok or tsebe ( G. euchore ) of South Africa, are the best known.

Gazement Gaze"ment noun View. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Gazer Gaz"er noun One who gazes.

Gazet Ga·zet noun [ Italian gazeta , gazzetta , probably dim. of Latin gaza royal treasure.] A Venetian coin, worth about three English farthings, or one and a half cents. [ Obsolete]

Gazette Ga·zette" noun [ French gazette , Italian gazzetta , perhaps from gazetta a Venetian coin (see Gazet ), said to have been the price of the first newspaper published at Venice; or perhaps dim. of gazza magpie, a name perhaps applied to the first newspaper; confer Old High German agalstra magpie, German elster .] A newspaper; a printed sheet published periodically; esp., the official journal published by the British government, and containing legal and state notices.

Gazette Ga·zette" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Gazetted ; present participle & verbal noun Gazetting .] To announce or publish in a gazette; to announce officially, as an appointment, or a case of bankruptcy.

Gazetteer Gaz`et·teer" noun [ Confer French gazetier .] 1. A writer of news, or an officer appointed to publish news by authority. Johnson. 2. A newspaper; a gazette. [ Obsolete] Burke. 3. A geographical dictionary; a book giving the names and descriptions, etc., of many places. 4. An alphabetical descriptive list of anything.

Gazingstock Gaz"ing·stock` noun A person or thing gazed at with scorn or abhorrence; an object of curiosity or contempt. Bp. Hall.

Gazogene Gaz"o·gene noun [ French gazogène ; gaz gas + -gène , English - gen .] A portable apparatus for making soda water or aërated liquids on a small scale. Knight.

Gazon Ga·zon" noun [ French gazon turf, from Old High German waso , German wasen .] (Fort.) One of the pieces of sod used to line or cover parapets and the faces of earthworks.

Ge- Ge- An Anglo-Saxon prefix. See Y- .

Geal Geal intransitive verb [ French geler , from Latin gelare , from gelu . See Gelid .] To congeal. [ Obsolete or Scot.]

Gean Gean noun [ French guigne the fruit of the gean; confer Old High German wīhsila , German weichsel .] (Botany) A species of cherry tree common in Europe ( Prunus avium ); also, the fruit, which is usually small and dark in color.

Geanticlinal Ge`an·ti·cli"nal noun [ Greek ... the earth + English anticlinal .] (Geol.) An upward bend or flexure of a considerable portion of the earth's crust, resulting in the formation of a class of mountain elevations called anticlinoria ; -- opposed to geosynclinal .

Gear Gear noun [ Middle English gere , ger , Anglo-Saxon gearwe clothing, adornment, armor, from gearo , gearu , ready, yare; akin to Old High German garawī , garwī ornament, dress. See Yare , and confer Garb dress.] 1. Clothing; garments; ornaments.

Array thyself in thy most gorgeous gear .

Spenser. 2. Goods; property; household stuff. Chaucer.

Homely gear and common ware.

Robynson (More's Utopia). 3. Whatever is prepared for use or wear; manufactured stuff or material.

Clad in a vesture of unknown gear .

Spenser. 4. The harness of horses or cattle; trapping. 5. Warlike accouterments. [ Scot.] Jamieson. 6. Manner; custom; behavior. [ Obsolete] Chaucer. 7. Business matters; affairs; concern. [ Obsolete]

Thus go they both together to their gear .

Spenser. 8. (Mech.) (a) A toothed wheel, or cogwheel; as, a spur gear , or a bevel gear ; also, toothed wheels, collectively. (b) An apparatus for performing a special function; gearing; as, the feed gear of a lathe. (c) Engagement of parts with each other; as, in gear ; out of gear . 9. plural (Nautical) See 1st Jeer (b) . 10. Anything worthless; stuff; nonsense; rubbish. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.] Wright.

That servant of his that confessed and uttered this gear was an honest man.

Latimer. Bever gear . See Bevel gear . -- Core gear , a mortise gear, or its skeleton. See Mortise wheel , under Mortise . -- Expansion gear (Steam Engine) , the arrangement of parts for cutting off steam at a certain part of the stroke, so as to leave it to act upon the piston expansively; the cut-off. See under Expansion . -- Feed gear . See Feed motion , under Feed , noun -- Gear cutter , a machine or tool for forming the teeth of gear wheels by cutting. -- Gear wheel , any cogwheel. -- Running gear . See under Running . -- To throw in, or out of , gear (Machinery) , to connect or disconnect (wheelwork or couplings, etc.); to put in, or out of, working relation.

Gear Gear transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Geared ; present participle & verbal noun Gearing .] 1. To dress; to put gear on; to harness. 2. (Machinery) To provide with gearing. Double geared , driven through twofold compound gearing, to increase the force or speed; -- said of a machine.

Gear Gear intransitive verb (Machinery) To be in, or come into, gear.

Gearing Gear"ing noun 1. Harness. 2. (Machinery) The parts by which motion imparted to one portion of an engine or machine is transmitted to another, considered collectively; as, the valve gearing of locomotive engine; belt gearing ; esp., a train of wheels for transmitting and varying motion in machinery. Frictional gearing . See under Frictional . -- Gearing chain , an endless chain transmitted motion from one sprocket wheel to another. See Illust. of Chain wheel . -- Spur gearing , gearing in which the teeth or cogs are ranged round either the concave or the convex surface (properly the latter) of a cylindrical wheel; -- for transmitting motion between parallel shafts, etc.

Geason Gea"son adjective [ Middle English gesen , geson , rare, scanty, Anglo-Saxon g...sne barren, wanting. Confer Geest .] Rare; wonderful. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Geat Geat (gēt) noun [ See Gate a door.] (Founding) The channel or spout through which molten metal runs into a mold in casting. [ Written also git , gate .]

Gecarcinian Ge`car·cin"i·an (jē`kär*sĭn"ĭ* a n) noun [ Greek gh^ earth + karki`nos crab.] (Zoology) A land crab of the genus Gecarcinus , or of allied genera.

Geck Geck noun [ Dutch gek fool, fop; akin to German geck ; confer Icelandic gikkr a pert, rude person.] 1. Scorn, derision, or contempt. [ Prov. Eng.] 2. An object of scorn; a dupe; a gull. [ Obsolete]

To become the geck and scorn
O'the other's villainy.

Shak.

Geck Geck transitive verb [ Confer OD. ghecken , German gecken . See Geck , noun ] 1. To deride; to scorn; to mock. [ Prov. Eng.] 2. To cheat; trick, or gull. [ Obsolete] Johnson.

Geck Geck intransitive verb To jeer; to show contempt. Sir W. Scott.

Gecko Geck"o (gĕk"o) noun ; plural Geckoes (-ōz). [ Confer F. & German gecko ; -- so called from the sound which the animal utters.] (Zoology) Any lizard of the family Geckonidæ . The geckoes are small, carnivorous, mostly nocturnal animals with large eyes and vertical, elliptical pupils. Their toes are generally expanded, and furnished with adhesive disks, by which they can run over walls and ceilings. They are numerous in warm countries, and a few species are found in Europe and the United States. See Wall gecko , Fanfoot .

Geckotian Geck·o"tian noun (Zoology) A gecko.

Ged, Gedd Ged, Gedd noun The European pike.

Gee Gee intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Geed ; present participle & verbal noun Geeing .] 1. To agree; to harmonize. [ Colloq. or Prov. Eng.] Forby. 2. [ Confer German jü , interj., used in calling to a horse, Italian giò, French dia , used to turn a horse to the left.] To turn to the off side, or from the driver ( i.e. , in the United States, to the right side); -- said of cattle, or a team; used most frequently in the imperative, often with off , by drivers of oxen, in directing their teams, and opposed to haw , or hoi . [ Written also jee .] » In England, the teamster walks on the right-hand side of the cattle; in the United States, on the left-hand side. In all cases, however, gee means to turn from the driver, and haw to turn toward him. Gee ho , or Gee whoa . Same as Gee .

Gee Gee transitive verb [ See Gee to turn.] To cause (a team) to turn to the off side, or from the driver. [ Written also jee .]

Geer, Geering Geer, Geer"ing [ Obsolete] See Gear , Gearing .