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Rarely Used G Words
Gaberdine •
noun
 
1
a smooth, durable twill-woven worsted or cotton cloth.
2
 
Brit.
a raincoatmade of gaberdine.
 — ORIGIN
Old French
gauvardine 
, perhaps from High German
wallevart 
‘pilgrimage’ and originally‘a garment worn by a pilgrim’.Gad •
verb
(
gadded
,
gadding
) (
gad about/around
)
informal
go around from one place toanother seeking pleasure and entertainment.
 — ORIGIN
from obsolete
gadling 
wanderer, vagabond, from Germanic.Gaffe •
noun
an embarrassing blunder.
 — ORIGIN
French, ‘boathook’, in colloquial use ‘blunder’.Gaga •
adjective
 
informal
rambling in speech or thought; senile or slightly mad.
 — ORIGIN
French.Gaggle •
noun
 
1
a flock of geese.
2
 
informal
a disorderly group of people.
 — ORIGIN
imitative of the noise that a goose makes.Gainsay •
verb
(
past
and
past part.
 
gainsaid
)
formal
deny or contradict; speak against.
 — DERIVATIVES
 
gainsayer
 
noun
.
 — ORIGIN
from obsolete
gain- 
‘against’ +
SAY
.Gaiter •
noun
 
1
a covering of cloth or leather for the ankle and lower leg.
2
 
chiefly US
a shoe orovershoe extending to the ankle or above.
 — DERIVATIVES
 
gaitered
 
adjective
.
 — ORIGIN
French
guêtre 
.Galleon •
noun
 
historical
a large square-rigged sailing ship with three or more decks and masts.
 — ORIGIN
French
galion 
or Spanish
galeón 
.Gallinaceous •
adjective 1
pertaining to or resembling the domestic fowls. 2 belonging or pertaining to the orderGalliformes, comprising medium-sized, mainly ground-feeding domestic or game birds, as the chicken, turkey,grouse, pheasant, and partridge. — ORIGIN
1775–85; < L
gallīnāceus
pertaining to poultry, equiv. to
gallīn
(
a
) hen (deriv. of 
gallus
cock) +
-āceus
 -
ACEOUS
 
Gallivant •
verb
 
informal
go from place to place seeking pleasure and entertainment.
 — ORIGIN
perhaps from
GALLANT
.
 
Galosh •
noun
a waterproof rubber overshoe.
 — ORIGIN
originally denoting a type of clog: from Latin
gallica solea 
‘Gallic shoe’.Gambol •
verb
(
gambolled
,
gambolling
;
US
 
gamboled
,
gamboling
) run or jump about playfully.•
noun
an act of gambolling.
 — ORIGIN
Italian
gambata 
‘trip up’.Gambit •
noun
 
1
an action or remark calculated to gain an advantage.
2
(in chess) an openingmove in which a player makes a sacrifice for the sake of some compensating advantage.
 — ORIGIN
Italian
gambetto 
‘tripping up’.Gamete •
noun
 
Biology
a mature haploid male or female germ cell which is able to unite withanother of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction to form a zygote.
 — DERIVATIVES
 
gametic
/g
mett
ik/ 
adjective
.
 — ORIGIN
Greek
gamete 
‘wife’,
gametes 
‘husband’, from
gamos 
‘marriage’.Gamin •
noun
 
a neglected boy left to run about the streets; street urchin.
 
 —ORIGIN
1830–40; < F, orig. boy assisting a glassblower, young boy; of uncert. orig.
Gammon
•
noun
 
1
ham which has been cured like bacon.
2
the bottom piece of a side of bacon,including a hind leg.
 — ORIGIN
Old French
gambon 
, from
gambe 
‘leg’.Gander •
noun
 
1
a male goose.
2
 
informal
a look or glance.
 — ORIGIN
Old English, related to
GANNET
.Gangling •
adjective
(of a person) tall, thin, and awkward.
 — ORIGIN
from
GANG
Gangplank •
noun
a movable plank used to board or disembark from a ship or boat.Gangway •
noun
 
1
a raised platform or walkway providing a passage.
2
a movable bridge linkinga ship to the shore.
3
 
Brit.
a passage between rows of seats in an auditorium, aircraft, etc.•
exclamation
make way!Gannet •
noun
 
1
a large seabird with mainly white plumage, catching fish by plunge-diving.
2
 
Brit.informal
a greedy person.
 — ORIGIN
Old English, related to
GANDER
.
 
Gantry •
noun
(
pl.
 
gantries
) a bridge-like overhead structure supporting equipment such as acrane or railway signals.
 — ORIGIN
originally denoting a wooden stand for barrels: probably from
GALLON
+
TREE
.Garble •
verb
reproduce (a message or transmission) in a confused and distorted way.•
noun
a garbled account or transmission.
 — DERIVATIVES
 
garbler
 
noun
.
 — ORIGIN
originally in the sense sift out, cleanse: from an Arabic word meaning sift.Garish •
adjective
obtrusively bright and showy; lurid.
 — DERIVATIVES
 
garishly
 
adverb
 
garishness
 
noun
.
 — ORIGIN
of unknown origin.Garnet •
noun
a deep red semi-precious stone.
 — ORIGIN
perhaps from Latin
granatum 
, as in
pomum granatum 
‘pomegranate’ (literally ‘applehaving many seeds’), because the garnet is similar in colour to the pulp of the fruit.Garnishee •
verb
used with object 
1
to attach (money or property) by garnishment. 2 to serve (a person) witha garnishment.
 
 — ORIGIN
1620–30;
GARNISH
+-
EE
 
Garret •
noun
a top-floor or attic room.
 — ORIGIN
originally in the sense watchtower: from Old French
garite 
, from
garir 
(see
GARRISON
).Garrulous •
adjective
excessively talkative.
 — DERIVATIVES
 
garrulity
/g
roo
liti/ 
noun
 
garrulously
 
adverb
 
garrulousness
 
noun
.
 — ORIGIN
Latin
garrulus 
, from
garrire 
‘to chatter, prattle’.Gasket •
noun
a sheet or ring of rubber or other material sealing the junction between twosurfaces in an engine or other device.
 — ORIGIN
originally denoting a cord securing a furled sail to the yard of a sailing ship: perhapsfrom French
garcette 
‘thin rope’ (originally ‘little girl’).Gastropod •
noun
 
Zoology
any of a large class of molluscs including snails, slugs, and whelks.
 — ORIGIN
from Greek
gaster 
‘stomach’ +
pous 
‘foot’.Gauche •
adjective
socially awkward or unsophisticated.
 — DERIVATIVES
 
gauchely
 
adverb
 
gaucheness
 
noun
.
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