gift

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Something you give to someone, usually to be kind or to celebrate.

   She gave him a watch as a birthday gift.

2. 2
   noun

   A natural ability or talent.

   He has a real gift for languages.

3. 3
   verb

   To give something to someone as a present.

   My aunt gifted me a beautiful necklace.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Gift entered Middle English from Old Norse gipt and is related to the Old English verb give.

From Middle English gift (also yift, yifte, ȝift, ȝeft), partly from Old English ġift (“giving, consideration, dowry, wedding”) and Old Norse gipt (“gift, present, wedding”); both from Proto-Germanic *giftiz (“gift”). Equivalent to give + -t (etymologically yive + -t). Cognate with West Frisian jefte (“gift”), Saterland Frisian Gift (“gift”), German Low German Gift (“poison”), Dutch gift (“gift”) and its doublet gif (“poison”), German Gift (“poison”), Danish gift (“gift (obsolete); poison, venom”), Swedish gift (“gift, poison, venom”), Icelandic gift (“gift”). Doublet of yift. Distantly relate…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary