gesticulate

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dʒɛˈstɪkjəˌleɪt/ UK /dʒɛˈstɪkjʊleɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make expressive gestures with the hands and arms while speaking

He began to gesticulate wildly to make his point heard.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make expressive gestures... gesture motion signal wave mime

Word family

Derived forms gesticulatedgesticulatinggesticulationgesticulatorgesticulative

Related forms gesturegest

Etymology

From Latin gesticulatus, past participle of gesticulari ('to gesture'), from gesticulus, diminutive of gestus ('gesture'), from gerere ('to carry, bear, perform').

gesticulari Latin gerere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# gesticulate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /dʒɛˈstɪkjəˌleɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /dʒɛˈstɪkjʊleɪt/

## Meanings
1. to make expressive gestures with the hands and arms while speaking

## Examples
- He began to gesticulate wildly to make his point heard.

## Synonyms
- gesture
- motion
- signal
- wave
- mime

## Derived Forms
- gesticulated
- gesticulating
- gesticulation
- gesticulator
- gesticulative

## Related Forms
- gesture
- gest

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gesticulari
- Root: gerere

## Etymology
From Latin gesticulatus, past participle of gesticulari ('to gesture'), from gesticulus, diminutive of gestus ('gesture'), from gerere ('to carry, bear, perform').

## AI Etymology
Gesticulate comes from Latin gesticulatus, past participle of gesticulari ('to gesture'), from gesticulus, diminutive of gestus ('gesture'), from gerere ('to carry, bear, perform'). The participial history matters: an older verbal form is preserved as an English adjective or derivative, so the modern word keeps the result of an action as its lexical shape. In present use, it is used as a verb meaning "to make expressive gestures with the hands and arms while speaking", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as gesticulated, gesticulating, gesticulation, gesticulator, and gesticulative and related forms such as gesture and gest, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin gesticulari and Latin gerere, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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