Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Gāin, v. t. p. 554To get, as profit or advantage; to acquire; to win; to obtain or acquire by effort or labor; as, to gain a good living. What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own…Gāin, v. i. p. 554To have advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest or happiness. Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by extortion. Ezek. xxii. 12. Thanks to you, That called me…Gāin, n. p. 554That which is gained, obtained, or acquired, as profit or advantage; profit; advantage; benefit; winning; — opposed to loss. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Phil.…Gāin, n. p. 554(Arch.) A beveled shoulder of a binding joist, for the purpose of giving additional resistance to the tenon below.Gāin, a. p. 554Handy; dexterous; suitable; convenient. 2. Profitable; cheap. 3. Near; contiguous. 4. Respectable; honest.Gāin'a-ble, a. p. 554Capable of being obtained or reached. Sherwood.Gāin'age, n. p. 554(O. Eng. Law.) (a.) The horses, oxen, plows, wains or wagons with their furniture for carrying on tillage. (b.) The land itself, or the profit made by cultivation. Bouvier.Gāin'er, n. p. 554One who gains or obtains profit, interest, or advantage. Wilt thou, after the expense of so much money, be now a gainer? Shak.Gāin'ful, a. p. 554Producing profit or advantage; profitable; advantageous; advancing interest or happiness. They be very gainful and profitable to their masters. Holland. 2. Productive of wealth; lucrative. “A gainful…Gāin'ful-ly, adv. p. 554In a gainful manner; with gain; profitably; advantageously.Gāin'ful-ness, n. p. 554The quality of being gainful; profitableness.Gāin'giv-ing, n. p. 554A misgiving; a giving against. [Obs.] Shak.Gāin'less, a. p. 554Not producing gain; unprofitable; not bringing advantage. Hammond.Gāin'less-ness, n. p. 554Want of advantage; unprofitableness.Gāin'ly, adv. p. 554Handily; readily; dexterously; advantageously; conveniently. [Obs.] Henry More.Gāin'pāin, n. p. 554Bread-gainer;—a term applied in the middle ages to the sword of a hired soldier.Gāin-sāy' or Gāin'sāy, v. t. p. 554To contradict; to oppose in words; to deny or declare not to be true; to controvert; to dispute. I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.…Gāin-sāy'er or Gāin'sāy-er, n. p. 554One who gainsays, contradicts, or denies; an opposer. Latimer.Gāin'sōme, a. p. 554Bringing gain; advantageous; desirable; gainful. [Obs.] Massinger.'Gainst, prep. p. 554See AGAINST.Gāin'stand, v. t. p. 554To withstand; to oppose; to resist. [Obs.] Durst gainstand the force of so many enraged desires. Sidney.Gāin'strive, v. i. p. 554To make resistance. [Obs.] “Unable to gainstrive.” Spenser.Gāin'strive, v. t. p. 554To strive or struggle against; to withstand. [Obs.] Spenser.Gāir'-fowl, n. p. 554(Ornith.) A large aquatic bird; the auk or penguin.Gāir'ish, a. p. 554Gaudy; showy; fine; affectedly fine; tawdry. “Monstrous hats and gairish colors.” Ascham. 2. Extravagantly gay; flighty. Fame and glory transport a man out of himself; it makes the mind loose and…Gāir'ish-ly, adv. p. 554In a gairish, showy manner.Gāir'ish-ness, n. p. 554The quality of being gairish; gaudiness; finery; affected or ostentatious show. 2. Flighty or extravagant joy, or ostentation. “Gairishness of spirit.” Bp. Taylor.Gāit, n. p. 554A going; a walk; a march; a way. “Address thy gait to her.” Shak. Good gentleman, go your gait, and let poor folks pass. Shak. 2. Manner of walking or stepping; bearing or carriage while moving. What…Gai'ter, n. p. 554A covering of cloth for the ankle, fitting down upon the shoe; a galoche. 2. A kind of shoe, consisting chiefly of cloth, and covering the ankle.Gāi'ter, v. t. p. 554To dress with gaiters.Gā'lā, n. p. 554Pomp, show, or festivity. [Rare.] Gala day, a day of mirth and festivity; a holiday.Ga-lac'tic, a. p. 554Of, or pertaining to, milk; obtained from milk; as, galactic acid. 2. Of, or pertaining to, the galaxy. Herschel.Ga-læ'tine, n. p. 554(Chem.) A milky or waxy substance, obtained from the juice of the Galactodendron utile.Ga-lac'to-dēn'dron, n. p. 554(Bot.) A genus of plants, including the cow-tree or milk-tree (Galactodendron, or Brosimum utile), of South Africa, the juice of which is a white, palatable, nutritious liquid, resembling, and often…Gāl'ae-tōm'e-ter, n. p. 554An instrument for ascertaining the quality of milk, by indicating its specific gravity; a lactometer. Ure.Găl'ae-tōph'a-gist, n. p. 554One who eats, or subsists on, milk.Găl'ae-tōph'a-gōŏs, a. p. 554Feeding on milk.Găl'ac-tŏph'o-roŭs, a. p. 554Producing milk; lactiferous.Ga-lăc'to-poi-ĕt'ic, a. p. 554Increasing the flow of milk; milk-producing. Brande.Ga-lăc'to-poi-ĕt'ic, n. p. 554A substance which facilitates the production, or increases the flow, of milk.Ga-lāġe', n. p. 554A wooden shoe or clog. [Obs.] Spenser.Ga-lā'go, n. p. 554A small quadruped, which subsists chiefly upon insects, found in different parts of Africa.Ga-lāng'ga or Ga-lāng'gal, n. p. 554The pungent aromatic root of a plant of the East Indies (Alpinia galanga), allied to the ginger. Other roots of a similar taste are sold under the same name. Eng. Cyc.Gāl'an-tīne, n. p. 554A dish of veal, chickens, or other white meat, freed from bones, tied up, boiled, and served cold. Smart.Ga-lā'tian, n. p. 554(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of Galatia, in Asia Minor; a descendant of the Gauls who settled in Asia Minor.Găl′ax-y, n. p. 554(Astron.) The Milky Way; that luminous tract, or belt, which is seen at night encompassing the heavens, and which is composed of innumerable stars, so distant and blended as to be distinguishable…Gāl'ban, n. p. 554Găl'ba-nūm p. 554Heb. khelb'nāh, from khālab, to be fat, khālab, milk, or from Khelbōn, i. e., fat, fertile, a city of Syria, Gr. γαλυβών, now Aleppo.] A gum-resin exuding from the stem of the Bubon galbanum, an…Gāle, n. p. 554A strong current of air; a wind between a stiff breeze and a storm or tempest. Gales usually have a velocity of from fifty to sixty miles an hour. Among seamen they are variously qualified: as, a…Gāle, n. p. 555A song or story. [Obs.] Toone.Gāle, n. p. 555(Bot.) A plant of the genus Myrica, growing in wet places, and strongly resembling the bayberry. The sweet gale (M. gale) is a native of Europe, but is also found in the United States. Loudon.Gāle, v. i. p. 555(Naut.) To sail, or sail fast.Gāle, v. i. p. 555To sing or cry. [Obs.] “Gan he cry and gale.” Chaucer.Gā-le-a, n. p. 555(Bot.) The upper or helmet-shaped part of a labiate flower. 2. (Anat.) The innermost of the membranes which inclose the fetus in the uterus; the amnion. 3. (Surg.) A kind of bandage for the head. 4.…Gāl'e-as, n. p. 555A form of galley used by the Venetians and Spaniards, and propelled by both sails and oars. See GALLIASS.Gā'le-ate or Gā'le-ā'ted, a. p. 555Covered, as with a helmet. Woodward. 2. (Bot.) Having a flower like a helmet, as the monk’s hood.Ga-lē'nā, n. p. 555(Med.) A remedy or antidote for poison; theriaca. [Obs.] Parr. 2. Sulphuret of lead; the principal ore from which the metal lead is extracted. It is of a shining, bluish-gray color, has a metallic…Ga-lēn'ic or Ga-lēn'ic-al, a. p. 555Pertaining to, or containing, galena. 2. [From Galen, the physician.] Relating to Galen or his principles and method of treating diseases; as, galenic medicine. Dunglison.Gā'len-ism, n. p. 555The doctrines of Galen.Gā'len-īst, n. p. 555A follower of Galen.