Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
GENETHLIACS — GESTATION
GENETHLIACS, n. The science of calculating nativities or predicting the future events of life from the stars which preside at the birth of persons. [Little used.]
GENETHLIATIC, n. He who calculates nativities. [Little used.]
GENEVA, n. A spirit distilled from grain or malt, with the addition of juniper berries. But instead of these berries, the spirit is now flavored with the oil of turpentine. The word is usually contracted and pronounced gin.
GENEVANISM, n. [from Geneva, where Calvin resided.] Calvinism.
GENEVOIS, n. plu. jeneva’y. People of Geneva.
GENIAL, a. [L. genialis, from geno, gigno,]
1. Contributing to propagation or production; that causes to produce.
Creator, Venus, genial power of love.
2. Gay; merry.
3. Enlivening; contributing to life and cheerfulness; supporting life.
So much I feel my genial spirits droop.
4. Native; natural. [Not usual.]
The genial gods, in pagan antiquity, were supposed to preside over generation, as earth, air, fire and water.
GENIALLY, adv. By genius or nature; naturally. [Little used.]
1. Gayly; cheerfully.
GENICULATED, a. [L. geniculatus, from geniculum, a knot or joint, from the root of genu, the knee. See Knee.]
Kneed; knee-jointed; having joints like the knee a little bent; as a geniculated stem or peduncle.
GENICULATION, n. Knottiness; the state of having knots or joints like a knee.
GENII, n. [L. plu.] A sort of imaginary intermediate beings between men and angels; some good and some bad.
GENIO, n. [L. genius.] A man of a particular turn of mind.
GENITAL, a. [L. genitalis, from the root of gigno; Gr. to beget.]
Pertaining to generation or the act of begetting.
GENITALS, n. plu. The parts of an animal which are the immediate instruments of generation.
GENITING, n. A species of apple that ripens very early.
GENITIVE, a. [L. genitivus, from the root of gender.]
In grammar, an epithet given to a case in the declension of nouns, expressing primarily the thing from which something else proceeds; as filius patris, the son of a father; aqua fontis, the water of a fountain. But by custom this case expresses other relations, particularly possession or ownership; as animi magnitudo, greatness of mind, greatness possessed by or inherent in the mind. This case often expresses also that which proceeds from something else; as pater septem filiorum, the father of seven sons.
GENITOR, n. One who procreates; a sire; a father.
GENITURE, n. Generation; procreation; birth.
GENIUS, n. [L. from the root of gigno; Gr. to beget.]
1. Among the ancients, a good or evil spirit or demon supposed to preside over a man’s destiny in life, that is, to direct his birth and actions and be his guard and guide; a tutelary deity; the ruling and protecting power of men, places or things. This seems to be merely a personification or deification of the particular structure or bent of mind which a man receives from nature, which is the primary signification of the word.
2. The peculiar structure of mind which is given by nature to an individual, or that disposition or bent of mind which is peculiar to every man, and which qualifies him for a particular employment; a particular natural talent or aptitude of mind for a particular study or course of life; as a genius for history, for poetry or painting.
3. Strength of mind; uncommon powers of intellect, particularly the power of invention. In this sense we say, Homer was a man of genius. Hence,
4. A man endowed with uncommon vigor of mind; a man of superior intellectual faculties. Shakespeare was a rare-genius.
5. Mental powers or faculties. [See No. 2.]
6. Nature; disposition; peculiar character; as the genius of the times.
GENT, a. Elegant; pretty; gentle. [Not in use.]
GENTEEL, a. [L. gentilis, from gens, race, stock, family, and with the sense of noble or at least respectable birth, as we use birth and family.]
1. Polite; well bred; easy and graceful in manners or behavior; having the manners of well bred people; as genteel company; genteel guests.
2. Polite; easy and graceful; becoming well bred persons; as genteel manners or behavior; a genteel address.
3. Graceful in mein or form; elegant; as the lady has a genteel person.
4. Elegantly dressed.
5. Decorous; refined; free from any thing low or vulgar; as genteel comedy.
GENTEELLY, adv. Politely; gracefully; elegantly; in the manner of well bred people.
GENTEELNESS, a. Gracefulness of manners or person; elegance; politeness. We speak of the genteelness of a person or of his deportment.
1. Qualities befitting a person of rank.
GENTIAN, n. [L. gentiana.] A genus of plants, of many species. The common gentian is a native of the mountainous parts of Germany. The root, the only part used, has a yellowish brown color and a very bitter taste, and is used as an ingredient in stomachic bitters. It is sometimes called felwort.
GENTIL, n. A species of falcon or hawk.
GENTILE, n. [L. gentilis; from L. gens, nation, race; applied to pagans.]
In the scriptures, a pagan; a worshipper of false gods; any person not a Jew or a christian; a heathen. The Hebrews included in the term goim or nations, all the tribes of men who had not received the true faith, and were not circumcised. The christians translated goim by the L. gentes, and imitated the Jews in giving the name gentiles to all nations who were not Jews nor christians. In civil affairs, the denomination was given to all nations who were not Romans.
GENTILE, a. Pertaining to pagans or heathens.
GENTILESSE, n. Complaisance. [Not in use.]
GENTILISH, a. Heathenish; pagan.
GENTILISM, n. Heathenism; paganism; the worship of false gods.
GENTILITIOUS, a. [L. gentilitius, from gens.]
1. Peculiar to a people or nation; national.
2. Hereditary; entailed on a family.
GENTILITY, n.
1. Politeness of manners; easy, graceful behavior; the manners of well bred people; genteelness.
2. Good extraction; dignity of birth.
3. Gracefulness of mien.
4. Gentry. [Not in use.]
5. Paganism; heathenism. [Not in use.]
GENTILIZE, v.i. To live like a heathen.
GENTLE, a. [See Genteel.] Well born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble; as the studies of noble and gentle youth; gentle blood.
1. Mild; meek; soft; bland; not rough, harsh or severe; as a gentle nature, temper or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice. 1 Thessalonians 2:7; 2 Timothy 2:24.
2. Tame; peaceable; not wild, turbulent or refractory; as a gentle horse or beast.
3. Soothing; pacific.
4. Treating with mildness; not violent.
A gentle hand may lead the elephant with a hair.
GENTLE, n. A gentleman.
1. A kind of worm.
GENTLE, v.t. To make genteel; to raise from the vulgar.
GENTLEFOLK, n. [gentle and folk.] Persons of good breeding and family. It is now used only in the plural, gentlefolks, and this use is vulgar.
GENTLEMAN, a. [gentle, that is, genteel, and man. See Genteel.]
1. In its most extensive sense, in Great Britain, every man above the rank of yeomen, comprehending noblemen. In a more limited sense, a man, who without a title, bears a coat of arms, or whose ancestors have been freemen. In this sense, gentlemen hold a middle rank between the nobility and yeomanry.
2. In the United States, where titles and distinctions of rank do not exist, the term is applied to men of education and of good breeding, of every occupation. Indeed this is also the popular practice in Great Britain. Hence,
3. A man of good breeding, politeness, and civil manners, as distinguished from the vulgar and clownish.
A plowman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees.
4. A term of complaisance. In the plural, the appellation by which men are addressed in popular assemblies, whatever may be their condition or character.
5. In Great Britain, the servant of a man of rank, who attends his person.
GENTLEMANLIKE, GENTLEMANLY, a. Pertaining to or becoming a gentleman, or a man of good family and breeding; polite; complaisant; as gentlemanly manners.
1. Like a man of birth and good breeding; as a gentlemanly officer.
GENTLEMANLINESS, n. Behavior of a well bred man.
GENTLENESS, n. [See Gentle.] Dignity of birth. [Little used.]
1. Genteel behavior.
2. Softness of manners; mildness of temper; sweetness of disposition; meekness.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Galatians 5:22.
3. Kindness; benevolence.
4. Tenderness; mild treatment.
GENTLESHIP, n. The deportment of a gentleman.
GENTLEWOMAN, n. [gentle and woman.] A woman of good family or of good breeding; a woman above the vulgar.
1. A woman who waits about the person of one of high rank.
2. A term of civility to a female, sometimes ironical.
GENTLY, adv. Softly; meekly; mildly; with tenderness.
My mistress gently chides the fault I made.
1. Without violence, roughness or asperity.
GENTOO, n. A native of India or Hindoostan; one who follows the religion of the Bramins.
GENTRY, n. Birth; condition; rank by birth.
1. People of education and good breeding. In Great Britain, the classes of people between the nobility and the vulgar.
2. A term of civility; civility; complaisance.
GENUFLECTION, n. [L. genu, the knee, and flectio, a bending.]
The act of bending the knee, particularly in worship.
GENUINE, a. [L. genuinus, from enus, or its root. See Gender.]
Native; belonging to the original stock; hence, real; natural; true; pure; not spurious, false or adulterated. The Gaels are supposed to be genuine descendants of the Celts. Vices and crimes are the genuine effects of depravity, as virtue and piety are the genuine fruits of holiness. It is supposed we have the genuine text of Homer.
GENUINELY, adv. Without adulteration or foreign admixture; naturally.
GENUINENESS, n. The state of being native, or of the true original; hence, freedom from adulteration or foreign admixture; freedom from any thing false or counterfeit; purity; reality; as the genuineness of Livy’s history; the genuineness of faith or repentance.
GENUS, n. plu. genuses or genera. [L. genus. See Gender.]
1. In logic, that which has several species under it; a class of a greater extent than species; a universal which is predicable of several things of different species.
2. In natural history, an assemblage of species possessing certain characters in common, by which they are distinguished from all others. It is subordinate to class and order, and some arrangements, to tribe and family. A single species, possessing certain peculiar characters, which belong to no other species, may also constitute a genus; as the camelopard, and the flamingo.
3. In botany, a genus is a subdivision containing plants of the same class and order, which agree in their parts of fructification.
GEOCENTRIC, a. [Gr. earth, and center.] Having the earth for its center, or the same center with the earth. The word is applied to a planet or its orbit.
GEODE, n. [Gr. earth.] In mineralogy, a round or roundish lump of agate or other mineral, or a mere incrustation. Its interior is sometimes empty, and in this case the sides of its cavity are lined with crystals, as in agate balls. Sometimes it contains a solid movable nucleus; and sometimes it is filled with an earthy matter different from the envelop.
GEODESY, n. [Gr. the earth, and to divide.] That part of geometry which respects the doctrine of measuring surfaces, and finding the contents of all plain figures.
GEODETIC, GEODETICAL, a. Pertaining to the art of measuring surfaces.
GEODIFEROUS, a. [L.] Producing geodes.
GEOGNOST, n. [See Geognosy.] One versed in geognosy; a geologist.
GEOGNOSTIC, a. Pertaining to a knowledge of the structure of the earth; geological.
GEOGNOSY, n. [Gr. the earth, and knowledge.] That part of natural history which treats of the structure of the earth. It is the science of the substances which compose the earth or its crust, their structure, position, relative situation, and properties.
[This word originated among the German mineralogists, and is nearly synonymous with geology. But some writers consider geognosy as only a branch of geology; including in the latter, hydrography, geogony, meteorology and even geography.]
GEOGONIC, a. Pertaining to geogony, or the formation of the earth.
GEOGONY, n. [Gr. the earth, and generation.] The doctrine of the formation of the earth.
GEOGRAPHER, n. [See Geography.] One who describes that part of this globe or earth, which is exhibited upon the surface, as the continents, isles, ocean, seas, lakes, rivers, mountains, countries, etc. One who is versed in geography, or one who compiles a treatise on the subject.
GEOGRAPHIC, GEOGRAPHICAL, a. Relating to or containing a description of the terraqueous globe; pertaining to geography.
GEOGRAPHICALLY, adv. In a geographical manner; according to the usual practice of describing the surface of the earth.
GEOGRAPHY, n. [Gr. the earth, and to write, to describe.]
1. Properly, a description of the earth or terrestrial globe, particularly of the divisions of its surface, natural and artificial, and of the position of the several countries, kingdoms, states, cities, etc. As a science, geography includes the doctrine or knowledge of the astronomical circles or divisions of the sphere, by which the relative position of places on the globe may be ascertained, and usually treatises of geography contain some account of the inhabitants of the earth, of their government, manners, etc., and an account of the principal animals, plants and minerals.
2. A book containing a description of the earth.
GEOLOGICAL, a. [See Geology.] Pertaining to geology; relating to the science of the earth or terraqueous globe.
GEOLOGIST, n. One versed in the science of geology.
GEOLOGY, n. [Gr. the earth, and discourse.]
The doctrine or science of the structure of the earth or terraqueous globe, and of the substances which compose it; or the science of the compound minerals or aggregate substances which compose the earth, the relations which the several constituent masses bear to each other, their formation, structure, position and direction: it extends also to the various alterations and decompositions to which minerals are subject.
GEOMANCER, n. [See Geomancy.] One who foretells or divines, by means of lines, figures or points on the ground or on paper.
GEOMANCY, n. [Gr. the earth, and divination.] A kind of divination by means of figures or lines, formed by little dots or points, originally on the earth and afterwards on paper.
GEOMANTIC, a. Pertaining to geomancy.
GEOMETER, n. [See Geometry.] One skilled in geometry. [See Geometrician, which is generally used.]
GEOMETRAL, a. Pertaining to geometry.
GEOMETRIC, GEOMETRICAL, a. [Gr.] Pertaining to geometry.
1. According to the rules or principles of geometry; done by geometry.
2. Disposed according to geometry.
Geometrical progression, is when the terms increase or decrease by equal ratios; as 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 32, 16, 8, 4, 2.
GEOMETRICALLY, adv. According to the rules or laws of geometry.
GEOMETRICIAN, n. One skilled in geometry; a geometer.
GEOMETRIZE, v.t. To act according to the laws of geometry; to perform geometrically.
GEOMETRY, n. [Gr. the earth, and measure.] Originally and properly, the art of measuring the earth, or any distances or dimensions on it. But geometry now denotes the science of magnitude in general, comprehending the doctrine and relations of whatever is susceptible of augmentation and diminution; as the mensuration of lines, surfaces, solids, velocity, weight, etc., with their various relations.
GEOPONIC, a. [Gr. the earth, and labor.] Pertaining to tillage of the earth, or agriculture. [Not little used.]
GEOPONICS, n. The art or science of cultivating the earth.
GEORAMA, n. [Gr. the earth, and view.] An instrument or machine which exhibits a very complete view of the earth, lately invented in Paris. It is a hollow sphere of forty feet diameter, formed by thirty six bars of iron representing the parallels and meridians, and covered with a bluish cloth, intended to represent seas and lakes. The land, mountains and rivers are painted on paper and pasted on this cover.
GEORGE, n. A figure of St. George on horseback, worn by knights of the garter.
1. A brown loaf.
GEORGE-NOBLE, n. A gold coin in the time of Henry VIII of the value of 6s. 8d. sterling.
GEORGIC, n. [Gr. rustic; and labor.] A rural poem; a poetical composition on the subject of husbandry, containing rules for cultivating lands, in a poetical dress; as the Georgics of Virgil.
GEORGIC, a. Relating to the doctrine of agriculture and rural affairs.
GEORGIUM SIDUS. [See Herschel.]
GEOSCOPY, n. [Gr.] Knowledge of the earth, ground or soil, obtained by inspection.
GERANIUM, n. [L. from Gr. a crane.] Crane’s-bill, a genus of plants, of numerous species, some of which are cultivated for their fragrance or the beauty of their flowers.
GERENT, a. [L. gerens.] Bearing; used in Vicegerent.
GERFALCON. [See Gyrfalcon.]
GERM, n. [L. germen.] In botany, the ovary or seed-bud of a plant, the rudiment of fruit yet in embryo. It is the base or lower part of the pistil, which, in the progress of vegetation, swells and becomes the seed-vessel.
1. Origin; first principle; that from which any thing springs; as the germ of civil liberty, or of prosperity.
GERMAN, a. [L. germanus, a brother.]
1. Cousins german, are the sons or daughters of brothers or sisters; first cousins.
2. Related.
GERMAN, a. Belonging to Germany.
GERMAN, n. A native of Germany; and by ellipsis, the German language.
GERMANDER, n. A plant, or rather the name of several plants, as the rock germander, of the genus Veronica, and the common and water germander, of the genus Teucrium.
GERMANIC, a. Pertaining to Germany; as the Germanic body or confederacy.
GERMANISM, n. An idiom of the German language.
GERMEN, n. plu. germens. Now contracted to germ, which see.
GERMINAL, a. [from germen. See Germ.] Pertaining to a germ or seed-bud.
GERMINANT, a. Sprouting.
GERMINATE, v.i. [L. germino, from germen.] To sprout; to bud; to shoot; to begin to vegetate, as a plant or its seed.
GERMINATE, v.t. To cause to sprout. [Unusual.]
GERMINATION, n. The act of sprouting; the first beginning of vegetation in a seed or plant.
1. The time in which seeds vegetate, after being planted or sown.
GEROCOMICAL, a. Pertaining to gerocomy. [Little used.]
GEROCOMY, n. [Gr.] That part of medicine which treats of the proper regimen for old people.
GERUND, n. [L. gerundium, from gero, to bear.] In the Latin grammar, a kind of verbal noun, partaking of the nature of a participle.
GESLING, for gosling. [Not in use.]
GEST, n. [L. gestum, from gero, to carry, to do.]
1. A deed, action or achievement.
2. Show; representation.
3. A state in travelling; so much of a journey as is made without resting; or properly, a rest; a stop.
4. A roll or journal of the several days and stages prefixed, in the journeys of the English kings, many of which are extant in the herald’s office.
GESTATION, n. [L. gestatio, from gero, to carry.]
1. The act of carrying young in the womb from conception to delivery; pregnancy.
2. The act of wearing, as clothes or ornaments.
3. The act of carrying sick persons in carriages, as a salutary exercise, by which fevers have often been cured.