GIF
or gif
[jif or, sometimes, gif]Computers.
- a set of standards and file format for storage of digital color images and short animations.
- a file or image stored in this format.
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- to create a static or animated GIF from (an image or set of images): She GIFFed her favorite actor having a good laugh and posted it on her blog.
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Origin of GIF
Pronunciation note
It is understandable that computer users who encounter this acronym for the first time might well assume that since the “G” stands for “graphic,” gif should similarly be pronounced with an initial hard g, as in go and give. However, the inventor of the format, Steve Wilhite, has insisted from its introduction at a computer conference in the late 1980s that the pronunciation is [jif] /dʒɪf/, with an initial soft g, as in gelatin and giant. That pronunciation is even part of the official specifications for the format and is the one used by many computer gurus, but both pronunciations are commonly in use.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gif
Contemporary Examples
GIF tributes on Buzzfeed and the like, you begin embracing that TV character you spent so long trying to shake.
'Boy Meets World' Star Danielle Fishel Is OK with Being Topanga ForeverKevin Fallon
September 11, 2014
A gif of a civilian cargo plane crashing near Kabul, Afghanistan.
Welcome to MorbidReality, A Subreddit Featuring Some of the Most Disturbing Content on the InternetGideon Resnick
February 3, 2014
The joke going around was that he was going to try to put a GIF on the front page.
GIF of DiCaprio dancing in the Wolf of Wall Street trailer.
What about the ability to add NINE MIND-BLOWING SECONDS of audio to a still picture, or create a gif right there in the camera?
Historical Examples
"We'll have to ask the driver about the roads first," said Gif.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe IslandEdward Stratemeyer
"You made that race in record time, Jack," announced Gif Garrison.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe IslandEdward Stratemeyer
But I alvays like the shady site of a pargain, and I shall only gif you four dimes.'
Despair's Last JourneyDavid Christie Murray
"It was up to them to keep to their side of the road," said Gif Garrison.
The Rover Boys on a HuntArthur M. Winfield (Edward Stratemeyer)
A flock of wild ducks was circling about, and he pointed them out to Gif.
The Rover Boys on a HuntArthur M. Winfield (Edward Stratemeyer)
GIF
- a standard compressed file format used for pictures
- a picture held in this format
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Word Origin
C20: from g (raphic) i (nterchange) f (ormat)
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 gif
n.
1987, acronym from Graphics Interchange Format.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper