gobbet 
ily ; of Celtic origin : see gob 2 . Ct. jobbet, a dial, 
assibilated form of gobbet.'] 1. A mouthful; a 
morsel; a lump; a part; a fragment; a piece. 
[Obsolete or archaic.] 
He seide he hadde a gobet of the seyl 
That seynt Peter hadde. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 696. 
And alle eten and weren fulflld, and the! token the re- 
lif es of broken gobitis twelve cofyns f ul. 
Wyclif, Mat. xiv. 20. 
May it burst his pericranium, as the gobbets of fat and 
turpentine (a nasty thought of the seer) did that old 
dragon in the Apocrypha. Lamb, To Coleridge. 
2. A block of stone. Imp. Diet. 
gobbett (gob'et), v. t. [< gobbet, .] 1. To swal- 
low in large masses or mouthfuls; gobble. 
[Vulgar.] 
Down comes a kite powdering upon them, and gobbets 
up both together. Sir A L' Estrange. 
2. To gut (fish). Jul Berners. (Halliwell.) 
gobbetlyt (gob'et-li), adv. [< ME. gobetliche; < 
gobbet + -ly 2 ."] In gobbets or lumps. Huloet. 
His fader was islawe . . . and ithrowe out gobetliche. 
Trevisa, tr. of Higden's Polychronicon, iv. 103. 
gobbetmealt, adv. [< ME. gobetmele; < gobbet 
+ -meal.] Piecemeal. 
He comaundide the tunge of vnpitous Nychanore kitt 
off, for to be souen to briddia gobetmele. 
Wycli/, 2 Mac. xv. 38 (Oxf.). 
He slew Hamon neare to a hauen of the sea, and threw 
him gobbet meale therein. 
Stow, i I m in.. The Romaynes, an. 21. 
gobbing, gobbin (gob'ing, -in), n. [Verbal n. 
of gob->, v.~] In coal-mining, the refuse thrown 
back into the excavations remaining after the 
removal of the coal. 
Gobbin, or gobb-stnff, Is stones or rubbish taken away 
from the coal, pavement or roof, to fill up that excavation 
as much as possible, in order to prevent the crush of su- 
perincumbent strata from causing heavy falls, or follow- 
ing the workmen too fast in their descent. 
Ure, Diet., III. 330. 
gobbin-Stitch (gob'in-stich), 11. In embroidery, 
same as pearl-stitch. 
gobble 1 (gob'l), v. t. ; pret. and pp. gobbled, 
ppr. gobbling. [Freq. of gob 2 , q. v.] 1. To 
swallow in large pieces ; swallow nastily: often 
with up or down. 
The time too precious now to waste, 
And supper gobbled up In haste, 
Again afresh to cards they run. 
Swift, Lady's Journal. 
2. To seize upon with greed ; appropriate 
graspingly; capture: often with up or down. 
[Slang, tf. S.] F 
Nearly four hundred prisoners were gobbled up after the 
fight, and any quantity of ammunition and provisions. 
Chicago Evening Post, July, 1861. 
I happen to know how I obtained my knowledge isn't 
important that the moment Mr. Pringle should propose 
to my daughter she would gobble him down. 
H. James, Jr., Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 344. 
=Syn. 1. To demur, etc. (see eat) ; bolt, gulp. 
gobble 2 (gob'l), v. i.; pret. and pp. gobbled, 
ppr. gobbling. [Approximately imitative, the 
form being suggested by gobble^.] To make 
the loud noise in the throat peculiar to the tur- 
key-cock. 
Fat Turkeys gobling at the Door. Prior, The Ladle. 
gobble 2 (gob'l), n. [< gobble 2 , .] The loud 
rattling noise in the throat made by the turkey- 
cock: sometimes used of the dissimilar vocal 
sounds of other fowls. 
Flocks of ducks and geese . . . set up a discordant gob- 
ble. Mrs. Gore. 
The turkeys added then* best gobbles in happy procla- 
mation of the warm time coming. 
The Century, XXXVI. 148. 
gobble-cock (gob'1-kok), . Same as gobbler 2 . 
gobbler 1 (gob'ler), n. [< gobble^ + -er 1 .] One 
who swallows in haste ; a greedy eater ; a gor- 
mandizer. 
gobbler 2 (gob'ler), . [< gobble 2 + -erl.] A 
turkey-cock. Also called gobble-cock and tur- 
key-gobbler. 
I had gone some fifty yards up the fork, when I saw one 
of the gobblers perched, with his bearded breast to me, 
upon a horizontal limb of an oak, within easy shot. 
Ruxton, Adventures in the West, p. 847. 
gobelin (go-be-lan'), . and a. [So called from 
the Gobelins, a national establishment in Paris 
for decorative manufactures, especially cele- 
brated for its tapestry and upholstery, found- 
ed as a dye-house in 1450 by a family named 
Gobelin, and bought by the government about 
1662.] I. n. A variety of damask used for 
upholstery, made of silk and wool or silk and 
cotton. 
2560 
H. a. Pertaining to the French national fac- 
tory called the Gobelins, or resembling what 
is done there Gobelin stitch, in embroidery, a short 
stitch used in very fine work and requiring great care, as 
all the stitches must be of the same length and height. 
It is intended to resemble the stitch of tapestry, and is 
sometimes called tapestry-stitch. Gobelija tapestry. 
(a) Tapestry made at the Gobelins in Paris. See tapestry. 
(b) A kind of fancy work made in imitation of such tapes- 
try. It is worked from the back with silk or Berlin wool. 
gobett, n. A Middle English form of gobbet. 
go-between (go ' be -t wen'), . 1. One who 
passe- from one to another of different persons 
or parties as an agent or assistant in nego- 
tiation or intrigue ; one who serves another or 
others as an intermediary. 
I shall be with her (I may tell you), by her own appoint- 
ment ; even as you came in to me, her assistant, or go-be- 
tween, parted from me. Shalt., M. W. of W., U. 2. 
She had a maid who was at work near her that was a 
slattern, because her mistress was careless : which I take 
to be another argument of your security in her ; for the 
no-betweeni of women of intrigue are rewarded too well to 
be dirty. Steele, Spectator, No. 602. 
2. A servant who assists in the duties of two 
positions. See the extract. [Eng.] 
A girl seeks a situation as a go-between. I am told it is 
a not uncommon term for a servant who assists, equally, 
both housemaid and cook. N. and Q. , 7th ser. , VI. 37. 
gob-fire (gob'fir), n. In coal-mining, a sponta- 
goblin 
Cyprinidce; the gudgeons proper, related to the 
carp, bream, bleak, roach, tench, etc., but not 
family 
cephalous fishes, typified by the genus Gobiesox, 
alone representing the superfamily Gobiesoci- 
formes or the suborder Xenopterygii. They have 
spineless fins and a coin plicated suctorial apparatus, devel- 
oped chiefly from the skin of the pectoral region and only 
partly formed by the ventral fins. They are chiefly small 
fishes of oblong or elongated conical figure, have no scales, 
a depressed head, one posterior dorsal fin, with an anal op- 
posite it, and pectorals extended around the front of the 
sucking-disk. 
gobiesociform (go'bi-e-sos'i-fdrm), a. [< Go- 
biesox + L. forma, form.] Having the charac- 
ters of the Gobiesocidce or the Gobiesociformes. 
Gobiesociformes (go'bi-e-sos-i-fdr'mez), n. pi. 
[NL., < Gobiesox (-esoo) + forma, shape.] In 
Gilnther's system of classification, the four- 
teenth division of Acanthopterygii. 
Gobiesoi (go-bi'e-soks), . [NL., < L. gobio, 
gobius, a gudgeon, a goby, + esox, a kind of 
pike.] The typical genus of Gobiesocidce : so 
Gobiesox reticulattts. 
called from combining the extended snout of 
a pike and the ventral sucker of a goby. The 
commonest American species is G. reticulatus 
of California, about 6 inches long, 
gobiid (go'bi-id), a. and n. I. a. Pertaining to 
the family Gobiidce. 
II. . One of the gobies or Gobiidce. 
On the Californian coast is a gobiid (Oillichthys mlrabi- 
lls) remarkable for the great extension backward of the 
jaws and [for its] singular habits. 
Stand. Nat. Hist., III. 257. 
Gobiidae (go-bl'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Gobius + 
-idee.'] A family of acanthopterygian fishes, 
containing most of the Gobioidea; the gobies 
proper, or gobiids. It was formerly equivalent to that 
group, but is now restricted to the species with usually a 
stout body regularly tapering from head to tail, sometimes 
more elongated, or ovate and compressed ; scales diversi- 
form, ctenoid, cycloid, or wanting ; no lateral line ; gener- 
ally two splnigerous dorsal fins, sometimes united in one ; 
thoracic ventral fins, mostly 1-spined and 5-rayed, usually 
contributing to form a ventral sucker ; and an anal papilla. 
The genera are numerous and the species several hundred, 
mostly small or even of minute size, few reaching a length 
of a foot. Also Gobiadte, Qobidtr, Gobioidce. 
gobiiform (go'bi-i-f6rm), a. [< NL. gobiiformis, 
< Gobius + L. forma, form.] Having the char- 
acters of the Gobiidce; pertaining to the Gobii- 
formes; gobioid. 
Gobiiformes (go'bi-i-f6r'mez), n. pi. [NL., pi. 
of gobiiformis: see gobiiform.'] In Gilnther's 
system of classification, the ninth division of 
Acanthopterygii. 
Gobiina (go-bi-I'na), n. pi. [NL., < Gobius + 
-ina.'} In Gunther's system of classification, a 
group of Gobiidce, including species with the 
ventrals united or close together and two dor- 
sal fins. It embraces the subfamilies Gobiince, 
Eleotridince, and Periophthalmince of other au- 
thors. 
Gfobio (go'bi-6).. [NL. (Cuvier, 1817), < L. gobio. 
a gudgeon: see Gobius and gudgeon*.] A Cu- 
vierian genus of cyprinoid fishes, of the family 
Gobiajtuviatilis. 
to the gobies (Gobiidce). The common Euro- 
pean gudgeon is Gobio fluviatilis. 
gobioid (go'bi-oid). a. and n. I. a. Pertain- 
ing to or having the characters of the Gobioi- 
dea ; like a goby, in a broad sense. 
II. n. One of the Gobioidea; a goby or goby- 
like fish. 
Gobioid* (go-bi-6'i-de), n. pi. Same as Gobi- 
idce. 
Gobioidea (go-bi-oi'de-a), n. pi. [NL., < Gobius 
+ -oidea.'] A superfamily of fishes, containing 
the gobies and goby-like fishes. It includes 
the families Gobiidce, Callionymidce, Platypteri- 
dce, and Oxydercidce. 
Gobioides (go-bi-oi'dez), n. [NL., < Gobius + 
-aides.'] 1 . A genus of fishes. Lacepede, 1800. 
2. pi. In Cuvier's system of classification, 
the twelfth family of Acanthopterygii, charac- 
terized by the length and tenuity of the dorsal 
spines, the presence of a large siphonal intes- 
tinal canal without cseca, and the absence of a 
swim-bladder. 
Gobius (go'bi-us), n. [NL. (Linnasus), < L. go- 
bius, also cobius and gobio(n-) (> ult. E. gud- 
geon 1 , q. v.), the gudgeon, < Gr. Kuf}i6f, a kind 
of fish, gudgeon, tench.] A Linnean genus of 
fishes, typical or representative, in its modern 
acceptation, of the Gobiidce or Gobioidea. G. 
separator is found from tropical seas to North 
Carolina. 
goblet (gob'let), n. [Early mod. E. also gob- 
lette (= MLG. gobelet, IcobeUt); < OF. gobelet, 
goblet, a goblet, bowl, or wide-mouthed cup, P. 
gobelet, dial, goubelet (OF. also gobelot, dial, gou- 
belot) (= Pr. gobelet = Sp. cubilete), a goblet, 
dim. of OF. gobel, gobeau, goubeau, m., gobelle, 
f., a goblet, < ML. cupellus, a cup (ef. cupella, 
f., a vat), dim. of cupa, a tub, cask, vat: see 
cup, coop.] A crater-shaped drinking-vessel of 
glass or other material, without a handle, (a) A 
large drinking-vessel for wine, especially one used in fes- 
tivities or on ceremonious occasions. 
Ye that drinke wyne out of gnWettes. 
Bible 0/1661, Amos vi. 6. 
We love not loaded boards, and goblets crown'd. 
Denftam. 
No purple flowers, no garlands green, 
Conceal the goblet's shade or sheen. 
Longfellow, Goblet of Life. 
(b) In the United States, a glass with a foot and stem, as 
distinguished from a tumbler. 
goblet-cell (gob'let-sel), n. An epithelial cell 
of crateriform shape. See cell. 
gobletity (gob-let'i-ti), n. [< goblet + -ity; 
formed in imitation of Gr. KvaSorw, the abstract 
nature of a cup or goblet (< KiaBof, cup, goblet), 
used by Plato in the passage referred to in the 
following quotation. So tableity or mensality, 
in the same quotation, translates Plato's Gr. 
term rpairt^ort/c, < r/xim-fa, a table.] The quid- 
dity or abstract nature of a goblet. See ety- 
mology and quotation. 
Plato was talking about ideas, and spoke of mensality 
[ - tableity] and gobletity. " I can see a table and a gob- 
let," said the cynic, "but I can see no such things as 
tableity and gobletity." "Quite so," answered Plato, " be- 
cause you have the eyes to see a goblet and a table with, 
but you have not the brains to understand tableity and 
gobletity." 0. W. Holmes, Emerson, p. 391. 
goblet-shaped (gob'let-shapt), a. Crateriform. 
goblin (gob'lin), n. [< ME. gobelyn, < OF. gobe- 
lin, a goblin, hobgoblin, Robin Goodfellow (cf. 
ML. gobelinus, a goblin, Bret, gobilin, will-o'- 
the-wisp), < ML. cobalus, covalus, a goblin, de- 
mon, < Gr. KAfiafaif, an impudent rogue, an ar- 
rant knave, pi. K6fia>.ot, a set of mischievous 
goblins, invoked by rogues. The W. coblyn, a 
goblin, is an accom. of the E. word to W. cob- 
lyn, a thumper, pecker (coblyn y coed, wood- 
pecker), < cobio, thump. The G. kobold, a spirit 
of the earth, is prob. of different origin : see ko- 
bold, cobalt.'] An imaginary being supposed to 
haunt dark or remote places, and to take an oc- 
casional capricious interest in human affairs; 
an elf ; a sprite; an earthly spirit; particular- 
ly, a surly elf; a malicious fairy; a spirit of the 
woods ; a demon of the earth ; a gnome ; a ko- 
bold. 
