gilthead 
and the crcsccntic golden band between the eyes. Also 
called gilttioll. (It) The sea-bream, Pagtttia emtrodontut, 
called the red gilthead. (c) The cornier, goldenmaid, or 
golden wrasse, a lahroid ttsh, CrenUabrus melops or C. 
tinea, about 6 inches long, found in British waters, (d) 
A sparoid fish, Dentex vulgaris, more fully called the four- 
luothed ijilthend. (e) A scombroid fish, the bonito, Sarda 
pelamyn, or related species. 
Of these wee sawe comming out of Guinea a hundred in 
a company, which being chased by the gilt-heads, other- 
wise called the bonitoes, doe, to anoid them the better, 
take their flight out of the water. 
Hakluyt'i Voyages, III. 520. 
It may be, whiles he hopes to catch a gilt-head, 
He may draw up a gudgeon. 
Webster, Devil's Law-Case, i. 1. 
giltift, a. [ME., < gilt, guilt, + -if, ME. form of 
-we. Cf. guilty.'] Guilty. 
Who that giltif is, all quyte goth he. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 970. 
giltpoll (gilt'pol), n. Same as giWiead (a). 
gilttail (gilt'tal), n. A kind of worm, so called 
from its yellow tail. 
gimt (Jim), a. [Abbr. of gimpS = jimp, q. v.] 
Neat; spruce; well-dressed. 
He's as fine as a Prince, and as gim as the best of them. 
Sir J. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, i. 
gimbal (jim'bal), n. [Msogimbol; withexcres- 
cent 6 as in gamble, humble, tJiimble, etc., for- 
merly gimbel, gimmal, gymmal, jimmal, gemel 
(see gimmal), < ME. gemel (early mod. E. or dial. 
also gimmer, gemmow, < ME. gymowe, gymmew, 
gymew (of. pi. gemels, jemeics, twins) ; dial, also 
gimmon, q. v.); < OF. "gemel, gemeau, m., ge- 
melle, f., twin,< L. gemellus, double, twin: see 
gemel.~\ 1. A contrivance, as a ring moving on 
horizontal pivots, for securing free motion in 
suspension, or for suspending anything, as a 
chronometer, so that it may keep a constant 
position or remain in equilibrium. The name is 
most commonly used in the plural, applied to two mova- 
ble hoops or rings, the one within the other, the outer 
capable of rotation about a fixed horizontal axis lying in 
its plane, and the inner capable of rotation about an axis 
lying in the planes of both rings and perpendicular to 
the fixed axis. The mariners' compass is suspended by 
such a contrivance, and, having a free motion in two di- 
rections at right angles to each other, it maintains the card 
in a horizontal position, notwithstanding the rolling of 
the ship. 
Truly this argument haugeth togither by verie strange 
gimbols. Holinshed, Descrip. of Ireland, VI. ii. 
2t. Joined or interlocked work whose parts 
move within each other, as a bridle-bit or in- 
terlocked rings ; a gemel-ring. 
Hub. Sure, I should know that gimmal. 
Minche. 'Tis certain he : I had forgot my ring too. 
Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, iv. 2. 
My acts are like the motional gymmals 
Fix'd in a watch. Vow Breaker (1636). 
Thou sent'st to me a true-love knot ; but I 
Return a ring otjimmals, to imply 
Thy love had one knot, mine a triple tye. 
Uerrick, Hesperides, p. 201. 
3f. A quaint piece of mechanism ; a gimcrack. 
I think by some odd gimmals or device 
Their arms are set, like clocks, still to strike on. 
2515 
Some fjimfrack and branil-iiew imitation of a third-rate 
modem French or Belgian town, glaring with plate-glass, 
wilding, dust, smoke, acres of stucco, and oceans of asphalt. 
S. A. Rev., CXLIII. 478. 
Also spelled jimcrack. 
gimcrackery (jim'krak-er-i), n. [< gimcrack + 
-ery.'] Showy unsubstantiality. Also spelled 
jimcrackery. 
The inner life of the Empire was a strange mixture of 
rottenness and gimcrackery. 
Arch. Forbes, .Souvenirs of some Continents, p. 48. 
gime (gim), n. [E.dial., also written gyme; ME. 
not found; perhaps < Icel. gima, in mod. usage 
also gimaid, a vast opening ; or else for "gine, 
ult. < AS. ginan, gape, yawn, > AS. gin (once 
poet.), expanse (defined also 'a gap, an open- 
ing,' a sense assumed from the verb), = Icel. 
gina, gape, yawn, > gin, the gape or mouth of 
beasts : see gin 1 , begin, yawn. For the possible 
change, cf. chime 2 = chine 2 .'] A hole washed 
out of the ground by the rushing water when 
an embankment gives way. Peacock, Glossary 
(Manley and Corringham). 
gimlet (gim'let), n. [Also formerly or dial. 
gimblet; < ME. gymlet, < OF. gimbelet, earlier 
spelled guimbelet, or, with loss of m, guibelet, 
mod. F. gibelet, a gimlet, of Teut. origin, dim. 
of the form repr. by E. wimble, a gimlet: see 
wimble.] A small instrument with a pointed 
screw at the end, for boring holes in wood by 
turning it with one hand. 
Also a gymlet sharpe to broche & perce sone to turne & 
twyne. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 121. 
gimlet (gim'let), r. t. ; pret. and pp. gimleted or 
gimletted, ppr. gimleting or gimletting. [< gim- 
let, n.~] To use or apply a gimlet upon; form 
a hole in by using a gimlet ; turn round, as one 
does a gimlet. 
gimlet-eye (gim'let-I), n. 1. A squint-eye. 
Wright. 2. A small, sharp, disagreeably pry- 
ing eye. 
gimlet-eyed (gim'let-id), a. Keen-eyed; very 
sharp-sighted; given to watching or peering 
into small matters. [Colloq.] 
gimmalt (jim'al), n. See gimbal. 
gimmal-bitt (jim'al-bit), . The 
double bit of 
a bridle. 
In their pale, dull mouths the gimmal bit 
Lies foul with chaw'd grass. Shak., Hen. V., iv. 2. 
gin 
The wise Athenian crust a glittering fair, 
VnmovVl by tongue and sights, he walk'd the place, 
Through tape, toys, tinsel, gimp, perfume, and lace. 
Parrwll, To an Old Beauty. 
gimp 1 (gimp), v . t. [< gimp 1 , M.] To make or 
furnish with gimp Glmped embroidery, a kind of 
raised embroidery made with a padding of parchment or 
other material which is entirely concealed by the silk, 
gold thread, etc., passed over it. 
gimp 2 (gimp), v. t. To jag; denticulate. Enoye. 
Diet. 
gimp 3 (jimp), a. Another spelling of jimp 1 . 
gim-peg, n. See gem-peg. 
gimpmg (gim'pmg), . [< gimpi + -mg^.\ 
Gimp ; trimming formed of gimp. 
Draw with art the graceful sacque, 
Ornament it well with gimping, 
Flounces, furbelows, and crimping. 
Fawkes, tr. of Anacreon's Odes, xxviii. 
gimpy (jim'pi), a. [Ct. gimp 1 , jimp. ~\ Sprightly; 
active: as, a gimpy horse. Bartlett. [U.S.] 
ginH (gin), v. ; pret. gan, pp. gun. [Now writ- 
ten 'gin, being regarded as a modern (although 
it is an early ME. ) abbr. of begin ; < ME. ginnen, 
gynnen, pret. gan, gon, often irreg. can, con, pi. 
gunne, gonne, etc. (= MLG. MHGK ginnen), an 
early abbr., by apheresis, of beginnen, begin: 
see begin. The simple form does not occur in 
the earliest records.] To begin (which see). 
The floures gynnen for to sprynge. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 38. 
But when his force (/an faile, his pace gan wex areare. 
Spenser, F. Q.,111. vii. 24. 
As whence the sun 'gins his reflection. 
Shak., Macbeth,!. 2. 
Around gan Marmion wildly stare. 
Scott, Marmion. 
[In Middle English the preterit of this verb (flan, gon, 
can, con, etc.) was much used with a following infinitive, 
with or without to, as having, besides its regular incep- 
tive meaning ' began to,' a merely preterit force, being 
equivalent to the simple preterit of the second verb : as, 
he gan go, equivalent to he did go or he went. This aux- 
iliary was supplanted in the fifteenth century by did, 
though its use, as an archaism, continued much later. 
He closede both hys eye, 
And ... in thys manere gan deye [/. e., died]. 
Robert of Gloucester, p. 353. 
The wynd gan chaunge and blew right as hem leste. 
Chaucer, Null's Priest's Tale, 1. 253. 
Maydenis swiche as gunne heretymes waste 
In hire servyse. 
Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls,!. 283.] 
ring. 
A sort of double ring, curiously constructed. . . . Gim- 
mal rings, though originally double, were by a farther re- 
finement made triple, or even more complicated ; yet the 
name remained unchanged. Nares. 
gimmal-ringt (jim'al-ring), n. Same as gemel- gin a (gin), prep. [Sc., also gen, abbr. of agin, 
agen, again, against: see again, gain 3 . Cf. 
against, prep . , used in the same way . ] Against 
(a certain time) ; by : as, I'll be there gin five 
o'clock. 
And gin the morn gin twelve o'clock 
Your love shall married be. 
Sweet William (Child's Ballads, IV. 263). 
gin 3 (gin), conj. [Sc., a corruption of gif, E. 
if, q. v.] If; suppose. 
Gin a body meet a body 
Comin' thro' the rye. Scotch song. 
gimmelt (jim'el), n. See gimbal. 
gimmer 1 (gim'er), n. [< Icel. gymbr, mod. 
gimbr, a ewe-lamb of a year old, = Sw. gimmer, 
a sheep producing young for the first time, = 
Dan. gimmer, a ewe that has not lambed, prob. 
= Gr. xl/uupa, a she-goat, y x^cipa, the Chimera, 
a fabulous monster, x'P a PC, a he-goat, lit. 'a 
" 
But whether it were that the rebell his pouder faylde 
him, or some gimbol or other was out of frame, etc. 
Holinshed, Descrip. of Ireland, sig. G 3, col. 2. 
gimbal-jawed (jim'bal-jad), a. Having the 
lower jaw apparently out of joint, projecting 
beyond the upper, and moving with unusual 
freedom: said of persons. Also giniber-jawed, 
jimber-jawed. [U. S.] 
Gimbernat's ligament. See ligament. 
gimblet (gim'blet), n. An obsolete or dialectal 
form of gimlet. 
gimbol, n. See gimbal. 
gimcrack (jim'krak), n. and a. [< gim, neat, 
spruce, + crack, n., 14, a pert, lively boy.] 
1. n. If. A spruce or pert boy. 
I pity your poor sister, 
And heartily I hate these travellers, 
These gimcracka, made of mops and motions. 
Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, iii. 1. 
Thus prudent Gimcrack try'd if he were able 
(Ere he'd wet Foot) to swim upon a Table. 
Congreve, Pyrrhus, Prol. 
2. A showy, unsubstantial thing ; a pretty or 
fanciful thing; a toy; a gewgaw. 
Let me tell you, Scholar, that Diogenes walked on a 
day, with his friend, to see a country fair ; where he saw 
ribbons, and looking-glasses, and nnt-crackers, and fiddles, 
and hobby-horses, and many other gimcracks. 
/. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 205. 
Lady B. sailed in, arrayed in ribbons of scarlet, with 
many brooches, bangles, ami other gimcracks ornamenting 
her plenteous person. 
Thackeray, Lovel the Widower, p. 224. 
II. a. Showy but trivial; fanciful or trum- 
pery. 
wmterling,' i. e., a yearling: see chimera 1 ."] A 
d. 
Scotch.] 
'. HCL, lltvr C1UUK, Mill \AJ -M J [,( VII. , W - ^ <-VT J.1. T* J 
Shak., i Hen. vi., i. 2 (in some folios), ewe that is two years old. [North. Eng. and 
gimmer 2 (gim'er), . [A var. of kimmer = cum- 
mer, q. v. ] A contemptuous term for a woman. 
[Scotch.] 
She round the ingle wi' her gimmers sits. Fergusson. 
gimmer 3 (jim'er), n. [Also jimmer ; a corrup- 
tion of gimmal, gimbal, q. v.] If. A gimbal. 
I saw my precious watch . . . taken asunder, and lay- 
ing scattered upon the workman's shopboard; so as here 
lay a wheel, there the balance, here one gimmer, there 
another. Bp. Hall, Works, III. 702. 
2. A hinge. [Prov. Eng.] 
gimmewt, n. [< ME. gymmew, gymowe, etc. ; a 
var. of gimbal, q. v.] Same as gimbal, 2. 
Annelet [F.], a gimmew or little ring for the fingers. 
Cotgrave. 
gimmont, . [A var. of gimmal, gimbal.'] A 
double ring. 
A ring of a rush would tye as much Lone together as 
a Gimmon of golde. Greene, Menaphon, p. 88. 
gimp 1 (gimp), . [< f. guimpe, a nun's wimple, 
or lower part of the hood, gathered in folds 
about the neck, abbr. of OF. guimple, < OHG. 
wimpal, a wimple, veil, = E. wimple, q. v. The 
sense agrees better with that of F. guipure, with 
which there may have been some confusion : see 
guipure."] 1. A coarse thread used in some kinds 
of pillow-lace to form the edges or outlines of 
the design. 2. A flat trimming made of silk, 
worsted, or other cord, usually stiffened by 
wire and more or less open in design, used for 
borders for curtains or furniture, trimming for 
women's gowns, etc. 
It's here is come my sister-son ; 
Gin 1 lose him, I'll die. 
Rosmer Hafmand (Child's Ballads, I. 255). 
gin 4 (jin), n. [< ME. gin, ginne, gynne, ingenu- 
ity, contrivance, a machine, esp. a war-engine 
(battering-ram, etc.), abbr. from engin, engyn 
(accented in ME. on the second syllable), mod. 
E. engine, a contrivance : see engine. The sense 
'a trap, snare, 'is mod., and may be due in part 
to the influence of grin, a snare, which appears 
in older versions of the Bible in some places 
where the A. V. has gin : see grin 2 . Certainly 
not connected with Icel. ginna, dupe, fool, in- 
toxicate, y ginning, imposture, fraud.] If. Con- 
trivance ; crafty means ; artifice. 
Whether by wyndow, or by other gynne. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 1784. 
For Gygas the geaunt with a gynne engyned [with a contri- 
vance contrived]. Piers Plowman (B), xviii. 250. 
The Damzell there arriving entred in ; 
Where sitting on the flore the Hag she found 
Busie (as seem'd) about some wicked gin. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. vii. 7. 
2. A mechanical contrivance ; a machine ; an 
engine. Specifically (at) An engine of war. 
They dredde noon assaut 
Of gynne, gnnne, nor skaffaut. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 4176. 
(!>t) An engine of torture. 
Typhceus ioynts were stretched on a gin. 
Spenser, V. Q., I. v. 35. 
(e) A machine used instead of a crane, consisting essen- 
tially of three poles from 12 to 15 feet in length, often 
tapering from the lower extremity to the top, and united at 
their upper extremities, whence a block and tackle is sus- 
pended, the lower extremities being planted in the ground 
about 8 or 9 feet asunder, and having a windlass attached 
to two of them, (rf) In coal-mining, the machinery for 
raising ore or coal from a mine by horse-power. [Eng.] 
Generally called whim or whim-gin in the I'nited States. 
