gape
[ geyp, gap ]
/ geɪp, gæp /
verb (used without object), gaped, gap·ing.
noun
RELATED CONTENT
Of Man Buns And Moms: New Words Of 2015Since 1990, the American Dialect Society has held a Word of the Year vote, which is open to the public. This year’s vote takes place on January 8, 2016 in Washington DC. Over the past few weeks, linguists have been discussing nominations for various categories, and the ADS website has a nice roundup of 2015 Word of the Year candidates. Dictionary.com announced our own Word of …
Why Do We Call It A “Wife Beater” Shirt?How did a violent term become a piece of clothing? We’re in a bubbling cauldron of gender issues, and they’re boiling to the surface. To contribute to this heated discussion, we think there’s no better time to take wife beater, the slang term for that ubiquitous sleeveless white shirt, to the dump for good. But, how did the violent term become associated with a piece …
RELATED WORDS
stare, glare, gloat, rubberneck, eye, look, goggle, focus, yawp, beam, ogle, peer, bore, wonder, eyeball, cleave, divide, yaw, gap, yawn
Nearby words
- gap 2,
- gap junction,
- gap phenomenon,
- gap year,
- gap-toothed,
- gaper,
- gapes,
- gapeseed,
- gapeworm,
- gaping
Origin of gape
1175–1225; Middle English < Old Norse gapa to open the mouth wide; compare German gaffen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gape
gape
/ (ɡeɪp) /
verb (intr)
to stare in wonder or amazement, esp with the mouth open
to open the mouth wide, esp involuntarily, as in yawning or hunger
to be or become wide openthe crater gaped under his feet
noun
See also gapes
Word Origin for gape
C13: from Old Norse gapa; related to Middle Dutch gapen, Danish gabe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
gape
early 13c., from an unrecorded Old English word or else from Old Norse gapa "to open the mouth, gape," common West Germanic (cf. Middle Dutch, Dutch gapen, German gaffen "to gape, stare," Swedish gapa, Danish gabe), from PIE *ghai- (see gap). Related: Gaped; gaping. As a noun, from 1530s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper