Guerilla Gue·ril"la adjective See Guerrilla .

Guerite Guer"ite noun [ French guérite .] (Fort.) A projecting turret for a sentry, as at the salient angles of works, or the acute angles of bastions.

Guernsey lily Guern"sey lil"y (Botany) A South African plant ( Nerine Sarniensis ) with handsome lilylike flowers, naturalized on the island of Guernsey.

Guerrilla Guer·ril"la noun [ Spanish , lit., a little war, skirmish, dim. of guerra war, from Old High German werra discord, strife. See War .] 1. An irregular mode of carrying on war, by the constant attacks of independent bands, adopted in the north of Spain during the Peninsular war.

2. One who carries on, or assists in carrying on, irregular warfare; especially, a member of an independent band engaged in predatory excursions in war time.

» The term guerrilla is the diminutive of the Spanish word guerra , war, and means petty war , that is, war carried on by detached parties; generally in the mountains. . . . A guerrilla party means, an irregular band of armed men, carrying on an irregular war, not being able, according to their character as a guerrilla party, to carry on what the law terms a regular war . F. Lieder.

Guerrilla Guer·ril"la adjective Pertaining to, or engaged in, warfare carried on irregularly and by independent bands; as, a guerrilla party; guerrilla warfare.

Guess Guess (gĕs) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Guessed ; present participle & verbal noun Guessing .] [ Middle English gessen ; akin to Danish gisse , Swedish gissa , Icelandic gizha , Dutch gissen : confer Danish giette to guess, Icelandic geta to get, to guess. Probably originally, to try to get, and akin to English get . See Get .] 1. To form an opinion concerning, without knowledge or means of knowledge; to judge of at random; to conjecture.

First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess .

Pope.

2. To judge or form an opinion of, from reasons that seem preponderating, but are not decisive.

We may then guess how far it was from his design.

Milton.

Of ambushed men, whom, by their arms and dress,
To be Taxallan enemies I guess .

Dryden.

3. To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly; as, he who guesses the riddle shall have the ring; he has guessed my designs.

4. To hit upon or reproduce by memory. [ Obsolete]

Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them.

Shak.

5. To think; to suppose; to believe; to imagine; -- followed by an objective clause.

Not all together; better far, I guess ,
That we do make our entrance several ways.

Shak.

But in known images of life I guess
The labor greater.

Pope.

Syn. -- To conjecture; suppose; surmise; suspect; divine; think; imagine; fancy. -- To Guess , Think , Reckon . Guess denotes, to attempt to hit upon at random; as, to guess at a thing when blindfolded; to conjecture or form an opinion on hidden or very slight grounds: as, to guess a riddle; to guess out the meaning of an obscure passage. The use of the word guess for think or believe, although abundantly sanctioned by good English authors, is now regarded as antiquated and objectionable by discriminating writers. It may properly be branded as a colloguialism and vulgarism when used respecting a purpose or a thing about which there is no uncertainty; as, I guess I 'll go to bed.

Guess Guess intransitive verb To make a guess or random judgment; to conjecture; -- with at, about, etc.

This is the place, as well as I may guess .

Milton.

Guess Guess noun An opinion as to anything, formed without sufficient or decisive evidence or grounds; an attempt to hit upon the truth by a random judgment; a conjecture; a surmise.

A poet must confess
His art 's like physic -- but a happy guess .

Dryden.

Guess rope Guess" rope" (Nautical) A guess warp.

Guess warp Guess" warp" (Nautical) A rope or hawser by which a vessel is towed or warped along; -- so called because it is necessary to guess at the length to be carried in the boat making the attachment to a distant object.

Guessable Guess"a·ble adjective Capable of being guessed.

Guesser Guess"er noun One who guesses; one who forms or gives an opinion without means of knowing.

Guessingly Guess"ing·ly adverb By way of conjecture. Shak.

Guessive Guess"ive adjective Conjectural. [ Obsolete] Feltham.

Guesswork Guess"work` noun Work performed, or results obtained, by guess; conjecture.

Guest Guest (gĕst) noun [ Middle English gest , Anglo-Saxon gæst , gest ; akin to Old Saxon , D., & German gast , Icelandic gestr , Swedish gäst , Danish Gjäst , Goth. gasts , Russian goste , and to Latin hostis enemy, stranger; the meaning stranger is the older one, but the root is unknown. Confer Host an army, Hostile .] 1. A visitor; a person received and entertained in one's house or at one's table; a visitor entertained without pay.

To cheer his guests , whom he had stayed that night.

Spenser.

True friendship's laws are by this rule exprest.
Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest .

Pope.

Guest Guest transitive verb To receive or entertain hospitably. [ Obsolete] Sylvester.

Guest Guest intransitive verb To be, or act the part of, a guest. [ Obsolete]

And tell me, best of princes, who he was
That guested here so late.

Chapman.

Guest Guest noun (Zoology) (a) Any insect that lives in the nest of another without compulsion and usually not as a parasite. (b) An inquiline.

Guest rope Guest" rope" (Nautical) The line by which a boat makes fast to the swinging boom. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Guestwise Guest"wise" adverb In the manner of a guest.

Guevi Gue"vi noun (Zoology) One of several very small species and varieties of African antelopes, of the genus Cephalophus , as the Cape guevi or kleeneboc ( Cephalophus pygmæa ); -- called also pygmy antelope .
[ 1913 Webster]

Guffaw Guf·faw" noun A loud burst of laughter; a horse laugh. "A hearty low guffaw ." Carlyle.

Guffer Guf"fer noun (Zoology) The eelpout; guffer eel.

Guggle Gug"gle intransitive verb See Gurgle .

Guhr Guhr noun [ G.] A loose, earthy deposit from water, found in the cavities or clefts of rocks, mostly white, but sometimes red or yellow, from a mixture of clay or ocher. P. Cleaveland.

Guiac Gui"ac noun Same as Guaiac .

Guiacol Gui"a·col noun [ Guiac + - ol .] (Chemistry) A colorless liquid, C ₆ H ₄ .OCH ₃ .OH, resembling the phenols, found as a constituent of woodtar creosote, and produced by the dry distillation of guaiac resin.

Guiacum Gui"a·cum noun Same as Guaiacum .

Guib Guib noun (Zoology) A West African antelope ( Tragelaphus scriptus ), curiously marked with white stripes and spots on a reddish fawn ground, and hence called harnessed antelope ; -- called also guiba.

Guicowar Gui"co·war noun [ Mahratta gāekwār , prop., a cowherd.] The title of the sovereign of Guzerat, in Western India; -- generally called the Guicowar of Baroda , which is the capital of the country.

Guidable Guid"a·ble adjective Capable of being guided; willing to be guided or counseled. Sprat.

Guidage Guid"age noun [ See Guide .] 1. The reward given to a guide for services. [ R.] Ainsworth.

2. Guidance; lead; direction. [ R.] Southey.

Guidance Guid"ance noun [ See Guide .] The act or result of guiding; the superintendence or assistance of a guide; direction; government; a leading.

His studies were without guidance and without plan.

Macaulay.

Guide Guide transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Guided ; present participle & verbal noun Guiding .] [ Middle English guiden , gyden , French guiaer , Italian guidare ; probably of Teutonic origin; confer Goth. ritan to watch over, give heed to, Icelandic viti signal, Anglo-Saxon witan to know. The word probably meant, to indicate, point to, and hence, to show the way. Confer Wit , Guy a rope, Gye. ]

1. To lead or direct in a way; to conduct in a course or path; to pilot; as, to guide a traveler.

I wish . . . you 'ld guide me to your sovereign's court.

Shak.

2. To regulate and manage; to direct; to order; to superintend the training or education of; to instruct and influence intellectually or morally; to train.

He will guide his affairs with discretion.

Ps. cxii. 5.

The meek will he guide in judgment.

Ps. xxv. 9.

Guide Guide noun [ Middle English giae , French guide , Italian guida . See Guide , transitive verb ] 1. A person who leads or directs another in his way or course, as in a strange land; one who exhibits points of interest to strangers; a conductor; also, that which guides; a guidebook.

2. One who, or that which, directs another in his conduct or course of life; a director; a regulator.

He will be our guide , even unto death.

Ps. xlviii. 14.

3. Any contrivance, especially one having a directing edge, surface, or channel, for giving direction to the motion of anything, as water, an instrument, or part of a machine, or for directing the hand or eye, as of an operator ; as: (a) (Water Wheels) A blade or channel for directing the flow of water to the wheel buckets. (b) (Surgery) A grooved director for a probe or knife. (c) (Printing) A strip or device to direct the compositor's eye to the line of copy he is setting.

4. (Mil.) A noncommissioned officer or soldier placed on the directing flank of each subdivision of a column of troops, or at the end of a line, to mark the pivots, formations, marches, and alignments in tactics. Farrow.

Guide bar (Machinery) , the part of a steam engine on which the crosshead slides, and by which the motion of the piston rod is kept parallel to the cylinder, being a substitute for the parallel motion; -- called also guide , and slide bar . -- Guide block (Steam Engine) , a block attached in to the crosshead to work in contact with the guide bar. -- Guide meridian . (Surveying) See under Meridian . -- Guide pile (Engineering) , a pile driven to mark a place, as a point to work to. -- Guide pulley (Machinery) , a pulley for directing or changing the line of motion of belt; an idler. Knight. -- Guide rail (Railroads) , an additional rail, between the others, gripped by horizontal driving wheels on the locomotive, as a means of propulsion on steep gradients.

Guide rope Guide rope (Aëronautics) A rope hung from a balloon or dirigible so as trail along the ground for about half its length, used to preserve altitude automatically, by variation of the length dragging on the ground, without loss of ballast or gas.

Guideboard Guide"board` noun A board, as upon a guidepost having upon it directions or information as to the road. Lowell.

Guidebook Guide"book` noun A book of directions and information for travelers, tourists, etc.

Guideless Guide"less adjective Without a guide. Dryden.

Guidepost Guide"post` noun A post at the fork of a road, with a guideboard on it, to direct travelers.

Guider Guid"er noun A guide; a director. Shak.

Guideress Guid"er·ess noun A female guide. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Guidguid Guid"guid` noun (Zoology) A South American ant bird of the genus Hylactes ; -- called also barking bird .

Guidon Gui"don noun [ French guidon , Italian guidone . See Guide , transitive verb ] 1. A small flag or streamer, as that carried by cavalry, which is broad at one end and nearly pointed at the other, or that used to direct the movements of a body of infantry, or to make signals at sea; also, the flag of a guild or fraternity. In the United States service, each company of cavalry has a guidon.

The pendants and guidons were carried by the officer of the army.

Evelyn.

2. One who carries a flag. Johnson.

3. One of a community established at Rome, by Charlemagne, to guide pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Guige Guige (gĭj or gēj) noun [ Obsolete] See Gige .

Guild Guild noun [ Middle English gilds , Anglo-Saxon gild , gield , geld , tribute, a society or company where payment was made for its charge and support, from Anglo-Saxon gildan, gieldan, to pay. See Yield , transitive verb ] 1. An association of men belonging to the same class, or engaged in kindred pursuits, formed for mutual aid and protection; a business fraternity or corporation; as, the Stationers' Guild ; the Ironmongers' Guild . They were originally licensed by the government, and endowed with special privileges and authority.

2. A guildhall. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

3. A religious association or society, organized for charitable purposes or for assistance in parish work.

Guildable Guild"a·ble adjective Liable to a tax. [ Obsolete]

Guilder Guil"der noun [ Dutch gulden , orig., golden . Confer Golden .] A Dutch silver coin worth about forty cents; -- called also florin and gulden .

Guildhall Guild"hall` noun The hall where a guild or corporation usually assembles; a townhall.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter G > Page 65 of 72.
« Previous ¦57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 ¦ Next »