gaunt
[ gawnt ]
adjective,gaunt·er, gaunt·est.
extremely thin and bony; haggard and drawn, as from great hunger, weariness, or torture; emaciated.
bleak, desolate, or grim, as places or things: a gaunt, windswept landscape.
Origin of gaunt
1First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, probably from Old French gaunet, jaunet “yellowish,” derivative of gaune, jaune “yellow,” from Latin galbinus “greenish-yellow”
synonym study For gaunt
1. See thin.
word story For gaunt
Gaunt was originally used to mean “slim, slender.” Until the early 18th century, this now obsolete sense existed alongside the current sense “extremely thin and bony.”
The etymology of gaunt is uncertain. It is a Middle English word (also spelled gant ) that may come from Old French gant, a possible variant of gaunet, jaunet “yellowish.” Other etymologists suggest a Scandinavian origin, such as Norwegian gand “a thin, pointed stick; a tall, thin man.”
John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III and father of King Henry IV, was so named because he was born in the Flemish city of Ghent ( Gand in French, Gent in Flemish), corrupted to Gaunt in English.
The etymology of gaunt is uncertain. It is a Middle English word (also spelled gant ) that may come from Old French gant, a possible variant of gaunet, jaunet “yellowish.” Other etymologists suggest a Scandinavian origin, such as Norwegian gand “a thin, pointed stick; a tall, thin man.”
John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III and father of King Henry IV, was so named because he was born in the Flemish city of Ghent ( Gand in French, Gent in Flemish), corrupted to Gaunt in English.
Other words for gaunt
Opposites for gaunt
Other words from gaunt
- gauntly, adverb
- gauntness, noun
Other definitions for Gaunt (2 of 2)
Gaunt
[ gawnt, gahnt ]
noun
John of. John of Gaunt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for gaunt
gaunt
/ (ɡɔːnt) /
adjective
bony and emaciated in appearance
(of places) bleak or desolate
Origin of gaunt
1C15: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian dialect gand tall lean person
Derived forms of gaunt
- gauntly, adverb
- gauntness, noun
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
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