gossip 
With all my heart, I'll gossip at this feast. 
Shak., C. of E., v. 1. 
2. To talk idly, especially about other people ; 
chat; tattle. 
And the neighbours come and laugh and gossip, and so 
do I. Tennyson, The Grandmother. 
II. trans. If. To stand godfather to. 
With a world 
Of pretty, fond, adoptlous Christendoms, 
That blinking Cupid gossips. 
Shak., All's Well, i 1. 
2. To repeat as gossip: as. to gossip scandal. 
gossiper (gos'ip-er), . [< gossip, v., + -eri.] 
One who gossips; a gossipmonger. 
" I wonder who will be their Master of the Horse," said 
the great noble, loving gossip, though he despised the 
gossiper. Disraeli, Coningsby, ii. 4. 
gossiping (gos'ip-ing), n. [Verbal n. of t/os- 
xip, f .] If. A christening feast or other meriy 
assemblage. 
At gossiping* I hearken 'd after you, 
But amongst those confusions of lewd tongues 
There's no distinguishing beyond a Babel. 
Fletcher, Rule a Wife, iv. 1. 
You'll to the gossiping 
Of master Allwifs child ? 
iliddleton, chaste Maid, U. 1. 
2. Idle talk ; chatter ; scandal-mougering. 
All that I aim at, by this dissertation, Is to core it of 
several disagreeable notes, and in particular of those little 
jarrings and dissonances which arise from anger, censo- 
riousness, gossiping, and coquetry. Spectator, No. 147. 
gossipmonger (gos'lp-mung^ger), n. A chatty 
or gossiping person ; a scandal-bearer. 
The chief goisipmonger of the neighborhood. 
D. M. Wallace, Russia, p. 235. 
The quotation from that gossip-manger, Suetonius, does 
not help us to form a clearer notion of the use of glass 
In the time of Augustus. Edinburgh Rev., CLXVI. 430. 
gossipredt (gos'ip-red), re. [< ME. yossiprede, 
gossybrede, godsibrede, spiritual relationship, < 
gossip, godsib, a sponsor, gossip, + -rede, AS. 
-reeden, condition, a suffix appearing also in 
AS. sibr&den, kindred, and in E. kindred and 
hatred: see -red.'] 1. Relationship by baptis- 
mal rites; spiritual affinity; sponsorship. 
Be wel ware of feyned cosynage and gossiprede. 
Lydyate, Minor Poems, p. 36. 
Gossipred. spiritual parentage, the connection between 
sponsor and godchild, has the same effects among the 
South Slavonians [operates as a bar to intermarriage] which 
it once had over the whole Christian world. 
Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 257. 
2. Idle talk ; gossip. 
Now, this our poor fellow-citizen, Oliver Proudfute, hav- 
ing been active in spreading these reports, as indeed his 
element lay in such gossipred, some words passed betwixt 
him and me on the subject Scott, Fair Maid of Perth, v\. 
gossipry (gos'ip-ri), . [Formerly also gossip- 
rie; < gossip + -ry.~] If. Intimacy. 
As to that bishoprick, he would in no wise accept of it 
without the advice of the Generall Assembly. & never- 
theless er the next Assembly he was seized hard & fast on 
the bishoprick, whereby all gossiprie gade up between him 
and my uncle Mr. Andrew. Mir ill's MS., p. :>. 
2. Gossipy conversation; current talk or re- 
port. 
And many a flower of London gossipry 
lias dropped whenever such a stem broke off. 
XTK. Browning, Aurora Leigh, rtii. 
gossipy (gos'ip-i), a. [< gossip + -yl.] Per- 
taining to or characterized by gossip; hence, 
chatty; entertaining by a light, pleasing style 
of conversation or writing. 
The politicians of the lobby . . . came dangerously 
near to gossipy prophecy. 
Fortnightly Reo., N. S., XXXIX. 1. 
gossomert, . An earlier spelling of gossamer. 
gossoon (go-son'), n. [A corruption of P. gar- 
fon, a boy, a servant: see gareon, gareion.~\ A 
boy; a male servant. [Ireland.] 
In most Irish families there used to be a bare-footed 
gossoon, who was slave to the cook and the butler, and who 
in fact, without wages, did all the hard work of the house. 
Gossoons were always employed as messengers. 
Miss Edgeworth, Castle Kuckrent, p. 93. 
gossypine (gos'i-pin), a. [< Gossypium + -ine 1 .] 
In hot., cottony; resembling cotton. 
Gossypium (go-sip'i-tnn), n. [NL., < L. gos- 
sypion, gossipion, also called gossympinus, the 
cotton-tree ; the word has a Gr. semblance, but 
is prob. of Eastern origin.] A malvaceous ge- 
nus of herbs and shrubs, natives of the trop- 
ics, and important as yielding the cotton of 
commerce. They have usually 8- to 6-lobed leaves, 
showy axillary flowers surrounded by 3 large cordate 
bracts, and a 3- to 5-celled capsule, the seeds densely cov- 
ered by long woolly hairs. Four species are generally rec- 
ognized, though many others have been proposed. The 
cultivated species are natives of Asia and Africa, where 
they have been planted from very early times, and many 
varieties have been produced. All the cotton manufac- 
2582 
tured in civilized countries is the product of several vari- 
eties of G. herbaceuiu and G. llurbitdviis?, but G. arooreuin 
is also cultivated in some tropical regions. The fourth 
species, G. Davidsonii, is native upon the western coast 
of Mexico, and is remarkable in having its seeds wholly 
naked ; it is known only in a wild state. See cotton* and 
'ofrnn-jilunt. 
gostt, gostlyt, etc. The more correct but obso- 
lete spellings of gliost, ghostly, etc. Chaucer. 
gosudar, n. See hospodar. 
go-summert (go'sum'er), n. [Cf. go-harvest, 
and see gossamer.] The latter end of summer ; 
the last warm and fine weather. [Scotch.] 
The go-summer was matchless fair in Murray, without 
winds, wet, or any storm. 
Spalding, Hist. Troubles in Scotland, I. 34. 
got (got). Preterit of get 1 . 
got, gotten (got . got'n). Past participles of geft. 
gota (go'ta), n. [E. I ml. ] Lace: its name in 
the north of India, where its manufacture is but 
recent, (a) A gold or silver lace, the variety being In- 
dicated by some qualifying word, (b) A lace made of white 
cotton thread. 
gotch (goch), n. [E.dial. Cf. (?) It. <jr<ao, a kind 
of bottle, a cruet, gotto, a goblet, cup, bowl.] 
A water-pot ; an earthen jug ; a pitcher. 
He repaired to the kitchen and seated himself among the 
rustics assembled over their evening gotch of nog, joined 
in their discourse. The Village Curate. 
goteH, . An obsolete form of goafl. 
gote 2 (got), n. [< ME. gate, a drain, = OD. gate, 
a ditch, channel, gutter, sewer, = G. gosse, a 
drain ; akin to E. gut, which is used in a similar 
sense: see gut.} It. A drain, sluice, ditch, or 
gutter. 
There arose a great controversle about the erecting of 
two new gates at Skirbek and Langare for drayning the 
waters out of South Holand and the Fens. 
Dugdale'i Imbanking (1662), p. 248. (Halliwell.) 
2. A deep miry place. [North. Eng. and 
Scotch.] 
Also spelled goat. 
gptert, . . An obsolete form of gutter^. Chaucer. 
Goth (goth), . [= D. Goth = G. Gothe = Sw. 
Giiter = Dan. Goter = F. Goth = Sp. Pg. Godo 
= It. Goto, < LL. Gotlius, Gr. FoYtof, usually in 
pi., LL. Gotlii, Gr. rodot, prob. the same name, 
etymologically, as L. Gothones, Gotones (Taci- 
tus), Gutones (Pliny), Gr. Ti^uvrf (Ptolemy), 
etc., applied to Teut. peoples, being accom. 
forms (LL. better "Goti) of Goth. *Guts, pi. 
"Gulos, inferred from Goth. Gut-thiuda, the 
'Goth-people,' < "Guts, Goth, + thiuda = AS. 
theod, people: see Dutch.'] 1. One of an an- 
cient Teutonic race which appeared in the re- 
gions of the lower Danube in the third century 
A. D. A probable hypothesis identifies them with the 
Gothones or Guttones who dwelt near the Baltic; but 
there is little reason to believe in their relationship with 
the Geta: or in their Scandinavian origin. They made 
many inroads into different parts of the Roman empire 
in the third and fourth centuries, and gradually accepted 
the Arian form of Christianity. The two great historical 
divisions were the Visigoths (West Goths) and the Ostro- 
goths (East Goths). A body of Visigoths settled in the 
province of Mirsia (the present Servia and Bulgaria)* and 
were hence called Moasogoths ; and their apostle Wulflla 
(Ulfllas) translated the Scriptures Into Gothic. The Visi- 
goths formed a monarchy about 418, which existed in 
southern France until 507 and in Spain until 711. An Os- 
trogothic kingdom existed in Italy and neighboring re- 
gions from 4tt3 to 555. By extension the name was applied 
to various other tribes which invaded the Roman empire. 
I am here with thee and thy goats, as the most capri- 
cious poet, honest Ovid, was among the Goths. 
Shak., As you Like it, iii. 3. 
Shall he [the gladiator] expire. 
And unavenged ? Arise ! ye Goths, and glut your ire ! 
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 141. 
2. One who is rude or uncivilized ; a barbarian; 
a rude, ignorant person; one defective in taste : 
from the character of the Goths during their 
early irruptions into Roman territory. 
I look upon these writers as Goths in poetry. 
Addison, Spectator, No. 62. 
What do you think of the late extraordinary event in 
Spain '! Could you have ever imagined that those ignorant 
Goths would have dared to banish the Jesuits ! 
Chesterfield. 
Gothamist (go'tham-ist), . [< Gotham in 
Nottinghamshire, England, + -ts<. The vil- 
lage of Gotham became proverbial for the blun- 
dering simplicity of its inhabitants ("the wise 
men of Gotham "), of which many ludicrous sto- 
ries were told.] A simple-minded person ; a 
simpleton. See the etymology. 
Gothamite (go'tham-It), n. [< Gotham + -ite?.] 
An inhabitant of Gotham in England, and, by 
transfer, of the city of New York, to which the 
name was humorously applied in allusion to 
the stories of " the wise men of Gotham." See 
Gothamist. [The term was first used by Wash- 
ington Irving in " Salmagundi," 1807.] 
Gothic 
A most insidious and pestilent dance called the Waltz 
. . . was a potent auxiliary ; for by it were the heads of 
the simple Gothamites most villainously turned. 
Salmagundi, No. 17. 
Gothiant, . [< Goth + -tow.] A Goth. 
More like vnto the Grecians than vnto the Gothians in 
handling of their verse. 
Acham, The Scholemaster, p. 145. 
Gothic (goth'ik), . and w. [= F. Gothique = 
Sp. Gotico = Pg. Gotltico = It. Gotico (cf. D. 
G. Gothisch = Dan. Gotisk = Sw. Gotisk), < LL. 
Gothicus, < Gotltus,-pl. Cotlii, Goths: see Goth.'] 
1. . 1. Of or pertaining to the Goths: &s,Gothic 
customs; Gothic barbarity. 
The term Gothic, as applied to all the styles invented 
and used by the Western Barbarians who overthrew the 
Roman Empire and settled within its limits, is a true and 
expressive term both ethnographic-ally and architecturally. 
J. Feryusson, Hist. Arch., I. 397. 
Hence 2. Rude; barbarous. 
That late, and we may add gothic, practice of using a 
multiplicity of notes. Goldsmith, Int. to Hist World. 
When do you dine, Emilia? At the old Gothic hour of 
four o'clock, I suppose. 
Mrs. Marsh, Emilia Wyndham, xxL 
3. An epithet commonly applied to the Euro- 
pean art of the middle ages, and more particu- 
larly to the various Pointed types of archi- 
tecture generally prevalent from the middle of 
the twelfth century to the revival of study of 
classical models in the fifteenth and sixteenth 
centuries. This epithet was originally applied in scorn 
(compare def. 2), by Italian Renaissance architects, to 
every species of art which had existed from the decay of 
Roman art until the outward forms of that art were re- 
vived as patterns for imitation ; but, although no longer 
used in a depreciative sense, the adjective is inappropri- 
ate as applied to one of the noblest and completest styles 
of architecture ever developed, which owes nothing what- 
soever to the Goths, and is seldom now described as 
Gothic in other languages than English. See medieval 
and Pointed. 
The roof had some non-descript kind of projections 
called bartizans, and displayed at each frequent angle a 
small turret, rather resembling a pepper-box than a Gothic 
watch-tower. Scott, Waverley, viii. 
The principle of Gothic building, that every part, in- 
cluding what might seem at first sight as mere ornament, 
should have a constructive value, was never adopted by 
Italian builders. 
C. E. Norton, Church-building In Middle Ages, p. 136. 
4. In liturgies, an epithet sometimes applied 
to the Mozarabic liturgy, or to the Gallican 
family of liturgies, in accordance with an in- 
correct theory that they were first introduced 
into Gaul and Spain by the Visigoths, or from 
the fact that they were in use in Gallican and 
Spanish churches at the time of Gothic domi- 
nation. An ancient manuscript of the Gallican liturgy 
still extant is entitled a Gothic Missal (Missale Gothicum) 
by a later hand. 
II. n. 1. The language of the Goths. The 
Goths spoke various forms of a Teutonic tongue now usu- 
ally classed with the Scandinavian as the eastern branch 
of the Teutonic family, though it has also close affinities 
with the western branch (Old High German, Anglo-Saxon, 
etc.). All forms of Gothic have perished without record, 
except that spoken by some of the western Goths (Visi- 
goths), who at the beginning of the fourth century occu- 
pied Dacia (Wallachia, etc.), and who before the end of 
that century passed over in great numbers into Moesia (now 
Bulgaria, etc.). Revolting against the Roman empire, they 
extended their conquests even intoGaul and Spain. Their 
language, now called Mcesogothic or simply Gothic, is pre- 
served in the fragmentary remains of a nearly complete 
translation of the Bible made by their bishop, Wulfila (a 
name also used in the forms Uljila, Ulphila, I'ljllax) (who 
lived in the fourth century A. I).), and in some other frag- 
ments. These remains are of the highest philological im- 
portance, preceding by several centuries the next earliest 
Teutonic records (Anglo-Saxon and Old High German). 
The language bears a primitive aspect, indicating Its ex- 
istence under practically undisturbed linguistic conditions 
for a long period before its appearance in the records. 
Apart from the Latin and Greek words introduced with 
Christianity, Gothic shows little trace of foreign influence 
except in the presence of a few words borrowed from 
the neighboring Slavs. As the oldest recorded Teutonic 
tongue, and usually but not always nearest the original 
Teutonic type, it stands at the head of the languages of its 
class, to which it bears a relation like that of the Sanskrit 
to the other languages of the Indo-European family. 
2. In bibliography, an early form of black-faced 
and pointed letters, as shown in printed books 
and manuscripts. 3. [I. c.] The American 
name for a style of square-cut printing-type 
without serifs or hair-lines, after the style of 
old Roman mural letters. What is called simply 
fiothic in America is known in England as grotesque, and 
lighter faces known in England as saiu-nerif are in Amer- 
ica called gothic condensed, light-face gothic, etc. 
THIS LINE IS IN GOTHIC. 
4. The so-called Gothic style of architecture. 
See L, 3. 
The parish church of Lambeth is at a small distance 
from the Palace, has a plain tower, and the architecture 
is of the Gothic of the time of Edward IV. 
Pennant, London, Lambeth Church. 
