gift
[ gift ]
/ gɪft /
noun
something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.
the act of giving.
something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned: Those extra points he got in the game were a total gift.
a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent: the gift of saying the right thing at the right time.
verb (used with object)
to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with.
to present (someone) with a gift: just the thing to gift the newlyweds.
Nearby words
Origin of gift
1125–75; Middle English < Old Norse gift; cognate with Old English gift (Middle English yift) marriage gift; akin to give
Related formsgift·less, adjective
Synonym study
1. See present2.
Definition for gift (2 of 2)
GIFT
[ gift ]
/ gɪft /
noun
gamete intrafallopian transfer: a laparoscopic process in which eggs are retrieved from an ovary by aspiration and inserted, along with sperm, into the fallopian tube of another woman.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gift
British Dictionary definitions for gift (1 of 2)
gift
/ (ɡɪft) /
noun
verb (tr)
Derived Formsgiftless, adjective
Word Origin for gift
Old English gift payment for a wife, dowry; related to Old Norse gipt, Old High German gift, Gothic fragifts endowment, engagement; see give
British Dictionary definitions for gift (2 of 2)
GIFT
/ (ɡɪft) /
n acronym for
gamete intrafallopian transfer: a technique, similar to in vitro fertilization, that enables some women who are unable to conceive to bear children. Egg cells are removed from the woman's ovary, mixed with sperm, and introduced into one of her Fallopian tubes
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for gift
gift
mid-13c. (c.1100 in surnames), from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse gift, gipt "gift, good luck," from Proto-Germanic *giftiz (cf. Old Saxon gift, Old Frisian jefte, Middle Dutch ghifte "gift," German Mitgift "dowry"), from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive" (see habit).
For German Gift "poison," see poison (n.). Old English cognate gift meant "bride-price, marriage gift (by the groom), dowry" (Old English noun for "giving, gift" was related giefu). Sense of "natural talent" is c.1300, perhaps from earlier sense of "inspiration" (late 12c.). As a verb from 16c., especially in gifted. As a verb, giftwrap (also gift-wrap) attested by 1936.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with gift
gift
In addition to the idiom beginning with gift
- gift of gab
also see:
- look a gift horse in the mouth
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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