gist
NounUS[jist]/dʒɪst/1 syllable
Open English WordNet
Noun (2)
- the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary workSynonyms: effectessenceburdencoreType of meaning, significance
- the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience“the gist of the prosecutor's argument”“the heart and soul of the Republican Party”“the nub of the story”Synonyms: kernelsubstancecorecentercentreessenceheartheart and soulinwardnessmarrowmeatnubpithsumnitty-grittyType of content, cognitive contentKinds stuff, quiddity, bare bones, quintessence, hypostasis
Word of the day · Oct 11About this word
expediteverb
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Gist (jĭst), noun
Origin: OF. giste abode, lodgings, F. gîte, fr. gésir to lie, L. jacēre, prop., to be thrown, hence, to lie, fr. jacĕre to throw. In the second sense fr. OF. gist, F. gît, 3d pers. sing. ind. of gésir to lie, used in a proverb, F., c'est là que gît le lièvre, it is there that the hare lies, i. e., that is the point, the difficulty. See Jet a shooting forth, and cf. Agist, Joist, noun, Gest a stage in traveling.
1. A resting place. obsolete
These quails have their set gists; to wit, ordinary resting and baiting places.— Philemon Holland
2. The main point, as of a question; the point on which an action rests; the pith of a matter; as, the gist of a question.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54