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definitions

gib

1
[gib]
noun
  1. a hooked prolongation that develops during the spawning season on the lower jaw of a male salmon or trout.
  2. Machinery.
    1. a thin, wedgelike strip of metal for controlling the area in which a moving part, as the table of a milling machine, slides.
    2. a keylike part having a head at each end, used with a matching cotter as a fastening.
  3. (in carpentry or ironwork) a heavy metal strap for fastening two members together.
verb (used with object), gibbed, gib·bing.
  1. to fasten (parts) together by means of a gib.

Origin of gib

1
First recorded in 1555–65; origin uncertain

gib

2
[gib]
noun
  1. a cat, especially a male cat.
  2. a castrated cat.

Origin of gib

2
1350–1400; Middle English gib(be), short for Gilbert proper name

Gib.

  1. Gibraltar.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gib

Historical Examples of gib

  • De second year my business not good, and I only gib five dollars.

  • In Glenkindie, 'Gib, his man,' is the vile betrayer of the noble harper and his lady.

    The Balladists

    John Geddie

  • "I s'pose ye're goin' to gib it up now, boss," said the captain.

    A Jolly Fellowship

    Frank R. Stockton

  • Why did they sit back and let them grow as they pleased, Gib?

    Control Group

    Roger Dee

  • "I tink I'd better bleed him and gib him a dose ob calomel," returned Sam.

    Clotelle

    William Wells Brown

British Dictionary definitions for gib

gib

1
noun
  1. a metal wedge, pad, or thrust bearing, esp a brass plate let into a steam engine crosshead
verb gibs, gibbing or gibbed
  1. (tr) to fasten or supply with a gib

Word Origin for gib

C18: of unknown origin

gib

2
noun
  1. a male cat, esp a castrated one

Word Origin for gib

C14: probably a shortening and alteration of the proper name Gilbert

Gib

noun
  1. an informal name for Gibraltar
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
Word Origin and History for gib

Gib

familiar abbreviation of Gilbert. As a typical name for a cat, from c.1400.

n.

type of iron hook, 1560s, of unknown origin. As a piece of wood or metal to hold something else in place, from 1795.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper