First recorded in 1790–1800; from French gîte “lair, lodging,” from Old French giste, related to gésir “to reside, be situated”; see origin at gist ( def. )
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the dense web of highland hamlets dotting Mafate you can spend the night in a gîte, or bed-and-breakfast, where a hot meal awaits and a warm bed, too.
From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2019
Last summer, in the French Alps of Savoie, by the Italian border, I stayed somewhat accidentally in a gîte d’étape—a hostel-like guesthouse intended for hikers and bicyclists.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 20, 2016
In Déroulède's fine little poem, "Bon gîte", a famished, foot-sore soldier returning home is generously entreated by a poor housewife.
From In the Heart of the Vosges And Other Sketches by a "Devious Traveller" by Betham-Edwards, Matilda
Here is a fine gîte; let us stop!
From The Ascent of the Matterhorn by Whymper, Edward
Between me and the wished for gîte there lay sixteen miles of hilly road—darkling every minute faster.
From Border and Bastille by Lawrence, George A. (George Alfred)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
