governor 
gal action may act as a circuit-closer and sound an alarm 
or control some other part of the mechanism. (i>) The 
regulator used in arc-lamps to control the current. See 
rr ; inlnior. Governors' Act, an English statute of 1690 
(11 and 12 William III., c. 12), making; governors, their 
deputies, etc., of plantations beyond sea answerable in 
England for crimes committed within such plantations. 
Governor's council. See council. Gyroscope gov- 
ernor. See gynisciipe. Marine governor, a governor 
for marine engines intended to overcome the effects of the 
motion of a vessel on a governor of ordinary construction. 
Many such governors have been invented, in which the 
centrifugal balls are replaced by other contrivances. 
Screw-propeller governor, a form of governor in which 
the throttle-valve is regulated by the action of a screw- 
propeller device working in a resisting fluid. 
governor-block (guv'6r-nor-blok), n. In the 
railway automatic compression-brake, one of 
a pair of cast-iron blocks pivoted to the axle- 
clamp. They are driven by centrifugal force when the 
axle of the brake is revolved, and serve, by means of a pin 
on the extremity, to actuate the mechanism which throws 
the brake into gear. Car-Builder's DM. 
governor-general (guv'er-nor-jen'e-ral), n. A 
governor who has under him subordinate or 
deputy governors ; a viceroy : as, the gorernor- 
general of Canada. 
The Governor-General of India has absolute control 
over, and command of, the army in the field, to far as the 
direction of the campaign and the points of operation are 
concerned. W. H. Russell, Diary in India, I. 211. 
governor-generalship (guv ' er - nor - j en ' e - ral - 
ship), n. [< governor-general + -ship.] T:he 
office, functions, sphere of authority, etc., of a 
governor-general. 
Desirous that he should assume an absolute governor- 
generalship. Motley, United Netherlands, I. 399. 
governorship (guv'er-nor-ship), . [< gover- 
nor + -ship.] The office of governor. 
govinda (go-vin'da), n. [E. Ind.] The name 
of an Indian kite, Milcus govinda. 
gov't. A contraction of government. 
gow (gou), n. A Scotch form of gull 2 . 
gowan (gou'an), n. [So., < Gael, and Ir. gugan, 
a bud, flower, daisy.] In Scotland, one of sev- 
eral different yellow flowers, as the dandelion, 
the common marigold, the hawkweed, the globe- 
flower, etc., but generally the daisy, Bellis pe- 
rennis. Also gowlan. 
We twa hae run about the braes, 
An' pu'd the gowans fine. 
Burns, Auld Lang Syne. 
They [the sheets] were washed wi' the fairy-well water, 
and bleached on the bonnie white gowans, and beetled by 
Nelly and hersell. Scott, Guy Mannering, xxiv. 
Lapper or lockln gowan, the globe-flower, Trollius 
JSuropceui. Meadow-gowan, or open gowan, the 
marsh-marigold, Cultha paluxtri*. 
gowany(gou'a-ni),a. [< gowan + -yl.] Decked 
with gowans ; covered with mountain daisies. 
[Scotch.] 
Sweeter than gowany glens, qr new-mown hay. 
Ra.mtay, Gentle Shepherd, ii. ', 
gowar (gou'ar), n. Same as gouaree. 
gowd (goud)i' H. A Scotch form of gold. 
gowden (gou'dn), a. A Scotch form of golden. 
gowdie, gOWdy (gou'di), n. [So., =E. goldy; 
a dim. name applied to various animals having 
yellow or yellowish color or spots.] 1. The 
gemmous dragonet. 2. The gray gurnard. 
3. The golden-eyed duck, Clangula glaucion. 
Also gowdie-duck. 4. A cow Heels o'er gowdy 
See /Wi. 
gowdnook (goud'nok), n. [Sc., also gotcda- 
nook, gaufnook.~\ A fish, the skipper or saury, 
Scomberesox satirus. 
gowdy, . See gowdie. 
gowft (gouf), v. t. [Sc., also written gowff ; < 
gouf, a common pronunciation and old spelling 
of golf: see golf, go/ 3 .] To strike with the 
flat of the hand ; strike as in playing at hand- 
ball; cuff. 
North, Fox, and Co. 
Goutf'd Willie like a ba', man. 
Burns, The American War. 
gowk (gouk), n. [Sc., also gouk, = E. gawk, 
q. v.] 1. A cuckoo. 2. A stupid fellow; a 
gawk. See gawk, 2.-To give one the gowk, to 
befool one. 
Ye hae gi'en me the gowk, Annet, 
But I'll gie you the scorn ; 
For there's no a bell in a' the town 
Shall ring for you the morn. 
Sweet Willie (Child's Ballads, II. 96). 
gOWkt (gouk), . t. [< gowk, n.] To make (a 
person) look like a fool or gawk ; puzzle. 
Nay, look how the man stands as he were gowked. 
B. Jonson, Maguetick Lady, 111. 4. 
gOWkit (gou'kit), a. [< gowk -r -ift = -ed?.] 
Foolish; stupid; giddy. [Scotch.] 
gowkmeat (gouk'met), n. The wood-sorrel, 
Oxalis Aeetosella. Same as cuckoo's-bread. 
gowkyt, . An obsolete variant of gawky. 
gun 
The 
2586 
gowl 1 (goul), c. i. [< ME. goulen, gowlen (also 
goirlen, gaulen, gawlcn, > E. yawl 1 , yoict), < Icel. 
gttiilrt, low, bellow: see yaicli. ;/<*/.] 1. To 
howl, either threateningly or in weeping. [Old 
Eng. and Scotch.] 
For unnethes es a chylde borne fully, 
That it ne begynnes to govlt and crye. 
JIamjiole, MS. Bowes, p. 25. (Httllimll.) 
-May ne'er misfortune's gintiin<j Irnrk 
Howl thro' the dwelling o' the' clerk. 
Burnt, Dedication to Gavin Hamilton. 
2. In coal-mining, to break down : said of tin- 
roof or sides of a mine. Gresley. [Derbyshire, 
Eng.] 
gowl-t, . Another spelling of gltoxl. 
gowlan, . Same as gowan. 
gowlee (gou'le), n. [Eepr. Hind, gauli, a cow- 
herd, a caste living by keeping cows and sell- 
ing milk, < Hind., etc., gait, gao, also uninflect- 
ed go, a cow, ox, bull, < Skt. go, a cow, = Gr. 
fiove = L. bos = E. cow : see cow 1 .] The cow- 
herd caste in Hindustan. 
gown (goun), n. [Early mod. E. and dial, also 
goicnd, gound; < ME. goune, a gown, either (1) 
< OP. gune, gone = Pr. goiia = OSp. gona = It. 
gonna (ML. gunna, MGr. yoiiva, Albanian gune), 
a gown, a petticoat ; or (2) < W. gwn = Corn. 
uii = Manx goon = Ir. gunn = Gael, gun, a gown, 
i'he Bom. forms are themselves prob. of Celtic 
origin. Cf. W. gwnio, sew, stitch.] 1. An outer 
garment, generally long and loose, of various 
shapes and uses. Specifically (o) A long and loose 
outer robe usually worn by men at the beginning of the 
fifteenth century and later, and by women continuously 
from an early date in the middle ages ; essentially, a gar- 
ment meant to be girded at the waist, somewhat close- 
lit tint' above and large and loose below. 
He came with all speed. 
In a gmrnd of green velvet from heel to the head. 
Death of Queen Jane (Child's Ballads, VIL 77). 
I [Dogberry] am a wise fellow, . . . and one that hath 
two gowns and everything handsome about him. 
Shale., Much Ado, iv. 2. 
(6) Same as dress, 2. [Dress is preferred for a garment cut 
to fit the person, the gown being more properly a loose 
garment hanging from the shoulders. Compare (c).] 
She pat on her back her silken gown, 
An' on her breast a silier pin. 
Erlinton (Child *s Ballads, III. 221> 
The Queen, I hear, is now very well again, and that she 
hath bespoke herself a new gown, Pepys, Diary, II. 61. 
She clad herself in a russet gown, 
She was no longer Lady Clare. 
Tennyson, Lady Clare. 
(c) A loose garment worn in the house ; a wrapper : as, a 
drc88ing-</otTO ; a nlght-^oum. 
My skin hangs about me like an old lady's loose gown. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iii. 3. 
2. Along and loose over-dress, of varying styles, 
worn distinctively on official occasions in Eu- 
rope, and less commonly in America, by clergy- 
men, judges, lawyers, and university professors 
and students ; hence, the emblem of civil power 
or place, as opposed to the sword. 
We hear 
The lawyers plead in armour 'stead of gowns. 
Webster ami. Dekker, Sir Thomas Wyat, p. 47. 
There is a reverence due 
From children of the goun to men of action. 
Fletcher (and others). Bloody Brother, L 1. 
I saw two grave auncient Judges ... in their Scarlet 
gownes, . . . with many other Civilians ... in blacke 
gmmes. Coryat, Crudities, I. 31. 
I past beside the reverend walls 
In which of old I wore the goicn. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, Ixxxvii. 
3f. The toga. 
Then were the Roman fashions imitated, and the Gown. 
Milton, Hist Eng., II. 
The toga, or gown, seems to have been of a semicircular 
form, without sleeves, different in largeness according to 
the wealth or poverty of the wearer, and used only upon 
occasion of appearing in publick. 
Kennet, Roman Antiquities, II. T. 7. 
Geneva gown, the form of preaching-gown, academic 
rather than ecclesiastical in character, affected by the 
early Genevan reformers, and adopted generally among 
Puritans and Low-churchmen. It is made to fit the body 
loosely, has full sleeves, and can be worn with or without 
a cassock. It is now seldom worn in the Anglican Church, 
the surplice or the masters' gown being used instead ; bat 
it is still the common form of pulpit-gown among Presby- 
terian and other dissenting ministers. Guarded gownt. 
See guard, 0. Town and gown, at Oxford and other 
university and college towns In Great Britain, the citizens 
or townspeople on the one hand, and the professors and 
students on the other. At Oxford quarrels and riots be- 
tween town and gown were of frequent occurrence in the 
middle ages, and have broken out occasionally in later 
times. 
gown (goun), t\ [< gown, .] I. trans. To in- 
vest with a gown ; clothe or dress in a gown : 
hence, to impart the function represented by 
the gown to. 
The person that is gowned is by his gowne putt in mynd 
of gravitye. Spenser, State of Ireland. 
grab-bag 
The comparison then is briefly between a gamut man 
and a souldier's condition in respect of expedition. 
Holyday, Juvenal, Illus. of the Sixteenth Satyrc. 
For travel girt, for business goimrtl. 
Wordsworth, Sonnets, iii. 20. 
II. iiitrtiiin. To put on a gown, 
gown-clotht, . A piece of cloth sufficient to 
make a gown. 
Tell, quod the lord, and thou shalt have anon 
A goune-cloth, by God and by Saint John. 
Chaucer, Snmmoner s Tale, 1. 552. 
Paid to John Pope, draper, for 2 gown-duths, eight yarcln, 
of 2 colors. [Time of Henry VI.) 
Quoted in Archcuologia, XXXIX. 367. 
gownman (goun'man), n. ; pi. gownmen (-men). 
Same as goirnnmun. 
A gownman learn 'd. Pope, Moral Essays, L 138. 
gown-piece (goun'pes), n. A piece of cloth (it 
to make a gown of, and sufficient in quantity. 
gownsman (gounz ' man), . ; pi. OOVUMMM 
(-men). 1. One whose professional habit is a 
gown, as a lawyer, or a professor or student of 
a university, especially the last. 
We used to meet gownsmen in High Street reading the 
goodly volume as they walked pensive with a grave and 
sage delight Hogg, in Dowden's Shelley, I. 92. 
The townsmen came on with a rush and shout, and 
were met by the gou<nsmen with settled, steady pluck. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford. 
2. One devoted to the arts of peace, in distinc- 
tion from a soldier ; a citizen. 
gowpen, n. See goupen. 
gOWt (gout), . See gout?. 
goyazite (go-yaz'It), w. [< Goyaz, a large in- 
land province of Brazil, noted for gold and 
diamonds, + -tte 2 .] A phosphate of alumin- 
ium and calcium, occurring, in rounded grains 
of a yellowish-white color, in the diamond-bear- 
ing gravels of Brazil. 
gozzan, . See gossan. 
gozzard, gozzerd (goz'Srd, -erd), n. [E. dial., 
< ME. goxlierde , agooseherd: see gooseherd, and 
cf. goshawk, gosling.] 1. One who herds geese. 
Malnte. [Prov. Eng.] 
A person called a gozzard, I. t., goose-herd, attends the 
flocks, and twice a day drives the whole to water. 
Pennant, Brit. Zool., The Gray Lag Goose. 
The man who tended them was called a gooseherd, cor- 
rupted into gozzerd. Encyc. Brit., X. 777. 
2. A fool; a silly fellow. Pegge. [Prov. Eng.] 
G. P. O. An abbreviation of General Post- 
office. 
gr. An abbreviation (a) of grain or grains; (b) 
of gram or grams; (c) of groschen. 
Or. An abbreviation of Greek. 
Oraafian follicle. See follicle, 2. 
graalt, n. See graift. 
grab 1 (grab), v. t. ; pret. and pp. grabbed, ppr. 
grabbing. [< Sw. grabba = MLG. grabbett, grasp ; 
a secondary verb (cf. its freq. grabble) connect- 
ed with grub, grope^, grasp, and ult. gripe^, but 
not with grapple.'] To seize forcibly or rough- 
ly; grip suddenly; snatch; hence, to get pos- 
session of rudely, roughly, forcibly, or illegally. 
[Colloq.] 
The desire to grab the lands of the weaker races is also 
less enveloped now than it was earlier In the century In 
such specious forms of words as " the blessings of civilisa- 
tion." Fortnightly .Ret., N. S., XLI. 1. 
grab 1 (grab), n. [< grabl, v. .] 1. The act of 
grabbing; a sudden grasp or seizure; a catch; 
hence, acquisition by violent, dishonest, or cor- 
rupt means. 
The girls wonder how those gunners sit so straight with 
folded arms, and never make hysterical grabs at the bars 
or at each other, as they would do under like circum- 
stances. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 788. 
The late session has left a record singularly free from 
scandals, and the results of its work will be searched in 
vain for "bigsr''al"or "jobs "out of which to make cam- 
paign thunder. The Sation, July 10, 1884, p. 21. 
2. Something that is grabbed or obtained by 
grabbing. 3. A mechanical device for grip- 
ping an object ; a grip. Specifically (o) In mining. 
a tool intended for extricating broken rods or other arti- 
cles from a boring, (b) A pair of iron hooks or grapples 
for gripping an object. Back-pay grab, salary grab, 
in U. S. hist., a retroactive congressional act of 1873 for 
the increase of the salaries of congressmen : an opprobri- 
ous name. 
grab 2 (grab), w. [Anglo-Ind., repr. Ar. gha- 
rab, Marathi gtirdb, ghurdb.] A vessel used 
on the Malabar coast, having two or three 
masts. 
grab-bag (grab 'bag), n. A bag containing 
articles to be obtained by thrusting the hand 
within and seizing one, the privilege of do- 
ing so being previously bought, a common 
money-getting device at charitable fairs ; fig- 
uratively, any unscrupulous device for gain or 
