gospel 
nesses, and that of Mark has been from a very early age ffnsoeler 
believed to be written by a disciple of the apostle Peter. 
The flrst three gospels are known as the tynnptie gosiKls, !/"*/' 
because combined they present a general and harmonized "' ' 
view of Christ's life. '1 'he Johannine origin of the fourth 
has been much disputed. Matthewaml Mark confine them- 
selves chiefly to Christ's ministry in (ialilee ; Luke adds an 
account of his ministry in Perea ; John alone records his 
ministry in Judea, except that portion of it connected with 
the Passion. There are also apocryphal gospels which are 
not regarded as genuine by any scholars, either Protes- 
tant, Roman Catholic, or Greek. The more important of 
these are : the Gox/jel of the Birth of Mary, an account of 
Mary s birth, youth, and espousals ; the Pro-etiangelion, a 
2581 
gospeller (gos'pel-er), n. [< ME. 
gusiicltere, r/odspellere, < AS. goilxpel- 
an evangelist, < godxpcllian, preach the 
gospel: see gospel, v.] If. A writer of one of 
the four gospels. 
What men may in the gospel rede 
Of Seynt Mathew, the goxpelere. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 6887. 
And the foure gospellers 
Standand on the pelers. 
MS. Lincoln, A. i. 17, f. 136. 
gossip 
Quilts flll'd high 
With goxsamorr, and roses cannot yield 
The body soft repose, the mind kept waking 
With anguish and affliction. 
ilassinger, Maid of Honour, iii. 1. 
Afore the brim went it was a werry handsome tile. 
Hows'ever it's lighter without it, that's one thing, and 
every hole lets in some air, that's another ventilation 
gossamer, I calls it. Dickem, Pickwick (1836), xii. 
"Thanks, yes," said the young man, flinging off his 
gossamer, and hanging it up to drip into the pan of the 
(Salliwell ) " at "* Harper's May., LXXVII. 138. 
auBjB wrm, yourn, anu espousals ; uu? l j r<r-in-an<i<'li<ni, a ,* ~ , , A, A 4. -A a- i i 
somewhat similar account ; the Gospels I. and II. of the * On e who lays particular stress upon the gos- * A mere trino > a flimsy, trivial matter. 
"" ----------- ""'" " 
. . 
Infancy of Jesus Christ ; and the Gosjiel of Nicodemu*, 
t "' 
seythe ; Et cognoverunt eum in fractione Panis. 
Mandeirille, Travels, p. 116. 
He [Luke] seith in hisgodspel, 
And scheweth hit by ensaumple vr soules to wisse. 
Piers Plowman (A), viii. 112. 
The Testimony of every one of these Churches did shew 
the concurrence of all the Apostles as to the Doctrine con- 
tained in the several Gospels. Stillingfleet, Sermons, III. ii. 
3. The doctrine and precepts inculcated by 
Christ and recorded in the original accounts of 
his life and teachings. 
The gospel of Christ. Phil. i. 27. 
Taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that 
obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thes. i. 8. 
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was 
raised from the dead according to my gospel. 2 Tim. ii. 8. 
A distinct conception of the spirit of the Apostolic age 
is necessary for a right understanding of the relation of 
the Gospel to the Gospels of the divine message to the 
lasting record at the rise of Christianity 
Westcott, Introd. to the Study of the Gospels, iii. 
Hence 4. Any doctrine, religious or secular, 
maintained as of great or exclusive importance. 
We have had somewhat too much of the "gospelot work. " 
It is time to preach the gospel of relaxation. 
H. Spencer, Pop. Sci. Mo., XXII. 358. 
The revolt of the American provinces of the British em- 
pire forced the idea of self-government, not as a local Brit- 
eral belief. ' Stubbs, Medieval and Modern Hist., p. 236. 
pel and strict adherence to its doctrines, more 
or less narrowly conceived, in opposition to 
ecclesiastical usages or traditions ; a fervently 
evangelical Protestant ; a Puritan : at the time 
of the Reformation and later, a term of reproach 
in the mouths of persons of ecclesiastical or 
rationalistic sympathies. 
He was a gospeller, one of the new brethren, somewhat 
worse than a rank papist. 
Latimer, 2d Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1550. 
The band of the early Cambridge Gospellers; of which 
Stafford, Bilney, Barnes and Warner were the leaders. 
"Greve jow noghte," quod Gawayne, "for Godis luffe of 
hevene ; 
ffore this (wound] es hot ijosesemere, and gyffene one 
erles [given as an earnest)." 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), L 2688. 
II. a. Thin and light as gossamer; light: as, 
a gossamer waterproof or coat. 
As for the white one [an Indian shawl], the priceless 
the gossamer, the fairy web, which might pass through a 
ring, that, every lady must be aware, was already appro- 
priated to cover the cradle. Thackeray, Newcomes, 11. 
Some gossamer wall, invisible to all but her, but against 
her strong as adamant. T. Winthrop, Cecil Dreeme xix 
A W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., ii. gossamery (gos'a-mer-i), a. [< gossamer + 
Like gossamer; flimsy; unsubstantial. 
Get the swine to shout Elizabeth. 
Yon gray old Gospeller, sour as mid-winter, 
BegiS with him. * Tennyson, Queen Mary, i. 2. gOSSan, gOZZan (goz'an), n. [E. dial. (Com. ) ; 
of. gozsan, an old wig grown yellow / 
3. A deacon, or a bishop or priest acting as 
deacon, at the celebration of the eucharist or 
holy communion : so called from his office of 
reading the liturgical gospel, in distinction 
from the epistler or subdeacon, who reads the 
epistle. See gospel, n., 5. 
In all cathedral and collegiate churches the Holy Com- 
munion shall be administered upon principal feast-days, 
. . . the principal minister using a decent cope, and be- 
ing assisted with the gospeller and epistler agreeably. 
Canons of Church of Eng., xxiv. 
When the bishop celebrates the Holy Communion the 
gospeller shall be an archdeacon, or else the member of the 
chapter highest in order present. 
Quoted in Edinburgh Rev., CLXIII. 171. 
4. An earnest preacher of the gospel ; an evan- 
gelist ; a missionary. 
sepulchral 
Prof. Blackie. 
n. An over- 
5. A portion of Scripture taken from one of 
the four gospels, and appointed to be read in 
liturgical churches as a part of the church ser- gospel-gossipt (gos'pel-gos"ip), 
vice. The gospel is the last and principal of the two or zealous talker about religion, 
more eucharistic lections in all liturgies. In the West- gOSpelizet, gOSpellizet (gos'pel-iz). v. t. [< 
ernchi s the portions are selected with reference to gospel + -tze.] 1 . To make accordant with the 
gospel. 
This command, thus gospelliz'd to us, hath the same 
force with that whereon Ezra grounded the pious neces- 
sity of divorcing. Milton, Divorce, i. 8. 
2. To instruct in the gospel; evangelize. 
In the mean time give me leave to put you in mind of 
what is done in the corporation (whereof you are a mem- 
ber) for gospettizing (as they phrase it) the natives of New 
England. Boyle, Works, I. 109. 
their appropriateness to the day or season ; in the Eastern 
they are read in consecutive order except on special festi- 
vals. In ancient times the gospel was read in the West, as 
in the East, from the ambo, sometimes from a distinct ambo 
of its own, later from a desk on an elevated place between 
nave and choir, called the " pulpit " (pulpitmn), which de- 
veloped, as it was made more and more lofty, into the 
rood-loft or jube. In later times it was read from a lectern 
on the floor of the sanctuary, or from the north side of the 
altar that is, from that part of the front of the altar which 
is at the right hand of the altar crucifix, or of the priest, if he 
is therefore called the gofpef side ol^ealter, andTnLaUn gOSpellaryt, gospeller, etc. See gospelary, etc. 
this side, or, more strictly, the corner beyond it, is termed gOSS (gos), n. A dialectal form of gorse. 
tKt^Yn^h'e'^ Tooth'd briers, sharp furzes, pricking goss, and thorns. 
who acts as deacon, at the celebration of the 'holy com- Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 
munion, is called^the gospeler, trom his function of read- gossamer (gos'a-mer), . and a. [Formerly 
also written gossonier, gossamerc, gossamear, 
gossymear, gossamour, gossamore, gossummer; < 
ME. gossomer, gossummer, earliest form goseso- 
mer (not in AS. ), lit. ' goose-summer,' < ME. gos, 
goose, + somer, summer (cf. equiv. E. dial, sum- 
mer-goose, also summer-gauze, accom. to gauze) ; 
a name of popular origin, alluding to the downy 
appearance of the film, and to the time of its 
appearance. Cf . the equiv. D. zomerdraden, pi., 
= Sw. sommartrad, 'summer-thread'; G. som- 
merfdden, pi., 'summer-threads.' The Sc. 170- 
summer, the latter end of summer, is appar. an 
ingenious adaptation of gossamer, gossummer, to 
denote the time when summer goes; cf. go-har- 
vest.'] I. n. 1. A fine filmy substance, consist- 
,__. . from 
age and wearing.] In mining, the ferruginous 
quartzose material which often forms a large 
part of the outcrop of a lode in which the me- 
tallic contents at depths exist chiefly in the 
form of sulphids, among which pyrites, a com- 
bination of sulphur andiron, is rarely wanting, 
and is often present in large quantity. These 
sulphids becoming oxidized, the resulting brown oxid 
of iron remains mixed with the gangue, of which the 
larger part is usually quartz ; and this dark, rusty-brown 
material is the gossan of the Cornish miner, a term also 
In very common use in other mining regions. It is the 
eiwnhut of the German and the chapeau de far of the 
French miners; and, indeed, the corresponding term in 
English, the iron hat, is not unfrequently heard in the 
United States. 
;ossaniferous (goz-a-nif 'e-rus), a. [< gossan + 
-i-ferous.] Containing or producing gossan. 
certain North Eastern gossat (gos'at), n. [Origin obscure.] The 
three-bearded rockling. [Local, Eng. (Folke- 
stone).] 
gossip (gos'ip), n. [< ME. gossyp, f/ossib, gossyb, 
godsib, a sponsor, also (only in the later form 
gossyp) a tattling woman, < AS. godsibb, m. (pi. 
godsibbas), a sponsor, lit. 'God-relative,' re- 
lated in God, < god, God, + sib (ONorth. pi. 
sibbo), gesib, a., related: see sib, a. and .] 1. 
A sponsor; one who answers for a child in bap- 
tism ; a godfather or godmother. [Obsolete or 
provincial.] 
A woman may in no lesse sinne assemble vith hire 
godsib than with hir owen fleshly brother. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
land, and afterward became a usage in the whole of the 
Western Church. 
6. That which is infallibly true ; absolute truth. 
[Colloq.] 
Gates was encourag'd, and every thing he afflrm'd taken 
for gospel. Evelyn, Diary, Oct. 1, 1678. 
II. a. Pertaining or relating to the gospel ; 
accordant with the gospel ; evangelical. 
Weel prosper a' the gospel lads 
That are into the west countrie, 
Aye wicked Claver'se to demean. 
Battle of London mil (Child's Ballads, VII. 145). 
Gospel side of the altar (eccles.), the side on which the 
gospel is read ; the north side. See I., 5. Gospel truth 
gospel (gos'pel), i: t. ; pret. and pp. gospeled or and only ' aecor(Jin g to some, when they are 
,,,,.. ii. .//../ n ^ A A 7.- U 77.--. ' rs --n young. It is seen in stubble-fields and on low bushes, 
gospelled, ppr. gospeling or gospelling. *[< ME. 
*godspellien (not found, but cf. gospeler), < AS. 
godspellian (= OHG. gotspellon), intr., preach 
the gospel (tr. LL. evangelizare, evangelize), 
< godspel, gospel: see gospel, .] To instruct 
in the gospel; fill with sentiments of piety. 
[Obsolete or archaic.] 
Are yon so gospell'd, 
To pray for this good man, and for his issue, 
Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave ? 
Shak., Macbeth, iii. 1. 
gospelaryt, gospellaryt (gos'pel-a-ri), a. [< 
gospel + -nry. ] Of or pertaining to the gospel ; 
theological. 
Let any man judge how well these gospellarj/ principles ,= > -i - e-* .n>, ... 
of our Presbyterians agree with the practice and doctrine ment made of such material ; specifically, a thin gossip (gos'ip), i: 
( the holy apostles. The Cloak in its Colours (1679), p. 8. water-proof outer wrap, especially for women. 1 f. To be a boon companion 
- , 
and also floating in the air in calm, clear weather, especially 
in autumn. Threads of gossamer are often spun out into 
the air several yards in length, till, catching a breeze, they 
lift the spider and carry it,on a long aerial voyage. 
Betweue voile and gossamer is a grete difference. 
Lydgate, Order of Fools, 1. 5B. 
A louer may bestride the gossamours, 
That ydles in the wanton Summer ayre, 
And yet not fall. Shak., R. and J., ii. 6 (fol. 1623). 
Four nimble gnats the horses were, 
Their harnesses of gosmmere. 
Drayton, Court of Fairy. 
2. A variety of gauze, softer and stronger than 
the ordinary kind, much used for veils. 3. Any 
thin or light material or fabric; also, a gar- 
After dinner, my wife and Mercer by coach to Green- 
wich, to be gossip to Mrs. Daniel's child. 
Pepys, Diary, II. 378. 
The other day a woman residing in a village about four 
miles north of Lancaster informed the clergyman, in re- 
ply to a query about a baptism, that it would not take 
place until a certain hour, " because Mrs. 's gossip 
cannot come till then." JV. and Q., 7th ser., IV. 485. 
A new kin was created for child and parents in the gos- 
sip of the christening. J. R. Green, Conq. of Eng., p. 9. 
2. A friend or neighbor; an intimate com- 
panion. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
Ich haue good ale, godsyo Gloton, wolt thow assaye? 
Piers Plourman (C), vii. 357. 
I sorrow for thee, as my friend and gossip. 
Fletcher (and another), Love's Pilgrimage, i. 1. 
Steenie, in spite of the begging and sobbing of his dear 
dad and gtissip, carried off Baby Charles in triumph to 
Madrid. Macaulay, Nugent's Hampden. 
3. One who goes about tattling and telling 
news ; an idle tattler. 
The dame reply'd : " "Tis sung in every street, 
The common chat of gossips when they meet" 
Dryden, Hind and Panther, lit 903. 
I know there are a set of malicious, prating, prudent 
gossips, both male and female, who murder characters to 
kill time.. Sheridan, School for Scandal, ii. 3. 
4. Idle talk, as of one friend or acquaintance 
to another; especially, confidential or minutely 
personal remarks about other people; tattle; 
scandal ; trifling or groundless report. 
There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren, 
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky. 
Bryant, Gladness of Nature. 
Below me, there, is the village, and looks how quiet and 
small ! 
And yet bubbles o'er like a city, with gossip, scandal, and 
spite. Tennyson, Maud, iv. 2. 
Same as branks, 1. =Syn. 4. See prat- 
[< gossip, n,~] L intrans. 
