Chapter 69

Good"ship, n. Favor; grace. [Obs.] Gower.

Good`-tem"pered (?), a. Having a good temper; not easily vexed. See Good-natured.

Good"wife` (?), n. The mistress of a house. [Archaic] Robynson (More's Utopia).

Good"y (?), n.; pl. Goodies (&?;). 1. A bonbon, cake, or the like; -- usually in the pl. [Colloq.]

2. (Zoˆl.) An American fish; the lafayette or spot.

Good"y, n.; pl. Goodies (#). [Prob. contr. from goodwife.] Goodwife; -- a low term of civility or sport.

Good"-year (?), n. [See Goujere.] The venereal disease; -- often used as a mild oath. [Obs.] Shak.

Good"y-good`y, a. Mawkishly or weakly good; exhibiting goodness with silliness. [Colloq.]

Good"y*ship, n. The state or quality of a goody or goodwife [Jocose] Hudibraus.

||Goo*roo", Gu*ru" (&?;), n. [Hind. gur&?; a spiritual parent or ||teacher, Skr. guru heavy, noble, venerable, teacher. Cf. Grief.] A ||spiritual teacher, guide, or confessor amoung the Hindoos. Malcom.

Goos"an`der (?), n. [OE. gossander, a tautological word formed fr. goose + gander. Cf. Merganser.] (Zoˆl.) A species of merganser (M. merganser) of Northern Europe and America; -- called also merganser, dundiver, sawbill, sawneb, shelduck, and sheldrake. See Merganser.

Goose (gs), n.; pl. Geese (gs). [OE. gos, AS. gs, pl. gs; akin to D. & G. gans, Icel. gs, Dan. gaas, Sw. gÂs, Russ. guse. OIr. geiss, L. anser, for hanser, Gr. chh`n, Skr. hasa. √233. Cf. Gander, Gannet, Ganza, Gosling.] (Zoˆl.)

1. Any large web-footen bird of the subfamily AnserinÊ, and belonging to Anser, Branta, Chen, and several allied genera. See Anseres.

The common domestic goose is believed to have been derived from the European graylag goose (Anser anser). The bean goose (A. segetum), the American wild or Canada goose (Branta Canadensis), and the bernicle goose (Branta leucopsis) are well known species. The American white or snow geese and the blue goose belong to the genus Chen. See Bernicle, Emperor goose, under Emperor, Snow goose, Wild goose, Brant.

2. Any large bird of other related families, resembling the common goose.

The Egyptian or fox goose (Alopochen ∆gyptiaca) and the African spur-winged geese (Plectropterus) belong to the family PlectropteridÊ. The Australian semipalmated goose (Anseranas semipalmata) and Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis NovÊ-HollandiÊ) are very different from northern geese, and each is made the type of a distinct family. Both are domesticated in Australia.

3. A tailor's smoothing iron, so called from its handle, which resembles the neck of a goose.

4. A silly creature; a simpleton.

5. A game played with counters on a board divided into compartments, in some of which a goose was depicted.

The pictures placed for ornament and use, The twelve good rules, the royal game of goose.

Goldsmith.

A wild goose chase, an attempt to accomplish something impossible or unlikely of attainment. -- Fen goose. See under Fen. -- Goose barnacle (Zoˆl.), any pedunculated barnacle of the genus Anatifa or Lepas; -- called also duck barnacle. See Barnacle, and Cirripedia. -- Goose cap, a silly person. [Obs.] Beau. & . -- Goose corn (Bot.), a coarse kind of rush (Juncus squarrosus). -- Goose feast, Michaelmas. [Colloq. Eng.] -- Goose flesh, a peculiar roughness of the skin produced by cold or fear; -- called also goose skin. -- Goose grass. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Galium (G. Aparine), a favorite food of geese; -- called also catchweed and cleavers. (b) A species of knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare). (c) The annual spear grass (Poa annua). -- Goose neck, anything, as a rod of iron or a pipe, curved like the neck of a goose; specially (Naut.), an iron hook connecting a spar with a mast. -- Goose quill, a large feather or quill of a goose; also, a pen made from it. -- Goose skin. See Goose flesh, above. -- Goose tongue (Bot.), a composite plant (Achillea ptarmica), growing wild in the British islands. -- Sea goose. (Zoˆl.) See Phalarope. -- Solan goose. (Zoˆl.) See Gannet.

Goose"ber*ry (?), n.; pl. Gooseberries (#), [Corrupted for groseberry or groiseberry, fr. OF. groisele, F. groseille, -- of German origin; cf. G. krausbeere, kr‰uselbeere (fr. kraus crisp), D. kruisbes, kruisbezie (as if crossberry, fr. kruis cross; for kroesbes, kroesbezie, fr. kroes crisp), Sw. krusb‰r (fr. krus, krusing, crisp). The first part of the word is perh. akin to E. curl. Cf. Grossular, a.] 1. (Bot.) Any thorny shrub of the genus Ribes; also, the edible berries of such shrub. There are several species, of which Ribes Grossularia is the one commonly cultivated.

2. A silly person; a goose cap. Goldsmith.

Barbadoes gooseberry, a climbing prickly shrub (Pereskia aculeata) of the West Indies, which bears edible berries resembling gooseberries. -- Coromandel gooseberry. See Carambola. -- Gooseberry fool. See lst Fool. -- Gooseberry worm (Zoˆl.), the larva of a small moth (Dakruma convolutella). It destroys the gooseberry by eating the interior.

Goose"fish` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) See Angler.

Goose"foot` (?), n. (Bot.) A genus of herbs (Chenopodium) mostly annual weeds; pigweed.

Goos"er*y (?), n.; pl. Gooseries (&?;). 1. A place for keeping geese.

2. The characteristics or actions of a goose; silliness.

The finical goosery of your neat sermon actor.

Milton.

Goose"wing` (?), n. (Naut.) One of the clews or lower corners of a course or a topsail when the middle part or the rest of the sail is furled.

Goose"winged` (?), a. (Naut.) (a) Having a "goosewing." (b) Said of a fore-and-aft rigged vessel with foresail set on one side and mainsail on the other; wing and wing.

Goos"ish, a. Like a goose; foolish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Goost (?), n. Ghost; spirit. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Goot (?), n. A goat. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Go"-out` (?), n. A sluice in embankments against the sea, for letting out the land waters, when the tide is out. [Written also gowt.]

Go"pher (?), n. [F. gaufre waffle, honeycomb. See Gauffer.] (Zoˆl.) 1. One of several North American burrowing rodents of the genera Geomys and Thomomys, of the family GeomyidÊ; -- called also pocket gopher and pouched rat. See Pocket gopher, and Tucan.

The name was originally given by French settlers to many burrowing rodents, from their honeycombing the earth.

2. One of several western American species of the genus Spermophilus, of the family SciuridÊ; as, the gray gopher (Spermophilus Franklini) and the striped gopher (S. tridecemlineatus); -- called also striped prairie squirrel, leopard marmot, and leopard spermophile. See Spermophile.

3. A large land tortoise (Testudo Carilina) of the Southern United States, which makes extensive burrows.

4. A large burrowing snake (Spilotes Couperi) of the Southern United States.

Gopher drift (Mining), an irregular prospecting drift, following or seeking the ore without regard to regular grade or section. Raymond.

Go"pher wood` (?). [Heb. gpher.] A species of wood used in the construction of Noah's ark. Gen. vi. 14.

||Go*rac"co (?), n. A paste prepared from tobacco, and smoked in ||hookahs in Western India.

Go"ral (?), n. (Zoˆl.) An Indian goat antelope (Nemorhedus goral), resembling the chamois.

Go"ra*my (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Same as Gourami.

Gor"-bel`lied (?), a. Bog- bellied. [Obs.]

Gor"-bel`ly, n. [Gore filth, dirt + belly.] A prominent belly; a big-bellied person. [Obs.]

Gorce (?), n. [OF. gort, nom. gorz, gulf, L. gurges whirlpool, gulf, stream. See Gorge.] A pool of water to keep fish in; a wear. [Obs.]

Gor"cock` (?), n. [Prob. from gore blood.] (Zoˆl.) The moor cock, or red grouse. See Grouse. [Prov. Eng.]

Gor"crow` (?), n. [AS. gor dung, dirt. See Gore blood, dirt.] (Zoˆl.) The carrion crow; -- called also gercrow. [Prov. Eng.]

Gord (?), n. [Written also gourd.] [Perh. hollow, and so named in allusion to a gourd.] An instrument of gaming; a sort of dice. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

||Gor`di*a"ce*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Gordian, 1.] (Zoˆl.) A division of ||nematoid worms, including the hairworms or hair eels (Gordius and ||Mermis). See Gordius, and Illustration in Appendix.

Gor"di*an (?), a. 1. Pertaining to Gordius, king of Phrygia, or to a knot tied by him; hence, intricate; complicated; inextricable.

Gordian knot, an intricate knot tied by Gordius in the thong which connected the pole of the chariot with the yoke. An oracle having declared that he who should untie it should be master of Asia, Alexander the Great averted the ill omen of his inability to loosen it by cutting it with his sword. Hence, a Gordian knot is an inextricable difficulty; and to cut the Gordian knot is to remove a difficulty by bold and energetic measures.

2. (Zoˆl.) Pertaining to the Gordiacea.

Gor"di*an, n. (Zoˆl.) One of the Gordiacea.

||Gor"di*us (?), n. [NL. See Gordian, 1.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of long, ||slender, nematoid worms, parasitic in insects until near maturity, ||when they leave the insect, and live in water, in which they deposit ||their eggs; -- called also hair eel, hairworm, and hair snake, from ||the absurd, but common and widely diffused, notion that they are ||metamorphosed horsehairs.

Gore (?), n. [AS. gor dirt, dung; akin to Icel. gor, SW. gorr, OHG. gor, and perh. to E. cord, chord, and yarn; cf. Icel. gˆrn, garnir, guts.] 1. Dirt; mud. [Obs.] Bp. Fisher.

2. Blood; especially, blood that after effusion has become thick or clotted. Milton.

Gore, n. [OE. gore, gare, AS. g&?;ra angular point of land, fr. g&?;r spear; akin to D. geer gore, G. gehre gore, ger spear, Icel. geiri gore, geir spear, and prob. to E. goad. Cf. Gar, n., Garlic, and Gore, v.] 1. A wedgeshaped or triangular piece of cloth, canvas, etc., sewed into a garment, sail, etc., to give greater width at a particular part.

2. A small traingular piece of land. Cowell.

3. (Her.) One of the abatements. It is made of two curved lines, meeting in an acute angle in the fesse point.

It is usually on the sinister side, and of the tincture called tennÈ. Like the other abatements it is a modern fancy and not actually used.

Gore, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gored (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Goring.] [OE. gar spear, AS. g&?;r. See 2d Gore.] To pierce or wound, as with a horn; to penetrate with a pointed instrument, as a spear; to stab.

The low stumps shall gore His daintly feet.

Coleridge.

Gore, v. t. To cut in a traingular form; to piece with a gore; to provide with a gore; as, to gore an apron.

Gore"bill` (?), n. [2d gore + bill.] (Zoˆl.) The garfish. [Prov. Eng.]

Gor"fly` (?), n.; pl. Gorflies (#). [Gore (AS. gor) dung + fly.] (Zoˆl.) A dung fly.

Gorge (?), n. [F. gorge, LL. gorgia, throat, narrow pass, and gorga abyss, whirlpool, prob. fr. L. gurgea whirlpool, gulf, abyss; cf. Skr. gargara whirlpool, gr. to devour. Cf. Gorget.] 1. The throat; the gullet; the canal by which food passes to the stomach.

Wherewith he gripped her gorge with so great pain.

Spenser.

Now, how abhorred! . . . my gorge rises at it.

Shak.

2. A narrow passage or entrance; as: (a) A defile between mountains. (b) The entrance into a bastion or other outwork of a fort; -- usually synonymous with rear. See Illust. of Bastion.

3. That which is gorged or swallowed, especially by a hawk or other fowl.

And all the way, most like a brutish beast, e spewed up his gorge, that all did him detest.

Spenser.

4. A filling or choking of a passage or channel by an obstruction; as, an ice gorge in a river.

5. (Arch.) A concave molding; a cavetto. Gwilt.

6. (Naut.) The groove of a pulley.

Gorge circle (Gearing), the outline of the smallest cross section of a hyperboloid of revolution. -- Gorge hook, two fishhooks, separated by a piece of lead. Knight.

Gorge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gorged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Gorging (?).] [F. gorger. See Gorge, n.] 1. To swallow; especially, to swallow with greediness, or in large mouthfuls or quantities.

The fish has gorged the hook.

Johnson.

2. To glut; to fill up to the throat; to satiate.

The giant gorged with flesh.

Addison.

Gorge with my blood thy barbarous appetite.

Dryden.

Gorge, v. i. To eat greedily and to satiety. Milton.

Gorged (?), a. 1. Having a gorge or throat.

2. (Her.) Bearing a coronet or ring about the neck.

3. Glutted; fed to the full.

Gor"ge*let (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A small gorget, as of a humming bird.

Gor"geous (?), a. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.] Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent.

Cloud-land, gorgeous land.

Coleridge.

Gorgeous as the sun at midsummer.

Shak.

-- Gor"geous*ly, adv. -- Gor"geous*ness, n.

||Gor`ge*rin" (?), n. [F., fr. gorge neck.] (Arch.) In some columns, ||that part of the capital between the termination of the shaft and the ||annulet of the echinus, or the space between two neck moldings; -- ||called also neck of the capital, and hypotrachelium. See Illust. of ||Column.

Gor"get (?), n. [OF. gorgete, dim. of gorge throat. See Gorge, n.] 1. A piece of armor, whether of chain mail or of plate, defending the throat and upper part of the breast, and forming a part of the double breastplate of the 14th century.

2. A piece of plate armor covering the same parts and worn over the buff coat in the 17th century, and without other steel armor.

Unfix the gorget's iron clasp.

Sir W. Scott.

3. A small ornamental plate, usually crescent-shaped, and of gilded copper, formerly hung around the neck of officers in full uniform in some modern armies.

4. A ruff worn by women. [Obs.]

5. (Surg.) (a) A cutting instrument used in lithotomy. (b) A grooved instrunent used in performing various operations; -- called also blunt gorget. Dunglison.

<! p. 640 !>

6. (Zoˆl.) A crescent-shaped, colored patch on the neck of a bird or mammal.

Gorget hummer (Zoˆl.), a humming bird of the genus Trochilus. See Rubythroat.

Gor"gon (gÙr"gn), n. [L. Gorgo, -onis, Gr. Gorgw`, fr. gorgo`s terrible.] 1. (Gr. Myth.) One of three fabled sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, with snaky hair and of terrific aspect, the sight of whom turned the beholder to stone. The name is particularly given to Medusa.

2. Anything very ugly or horrid. Milton.

3. (Zoˆl.) The brindled gnu. See Gnu.

Gor"gon, a. Like a Gorgon; very ugly or terrific; as, a Gorgon face. Dryden.

||Gor`go*na"ce*a (gÙr`g*n"sh*), n. pl. [NL.] (Zoˆl.) See Gorgoniacea.

Gor*go"ne*an (gÙr*g"n*an), a. See Gorgonian, 1.

||Gor`go*ne"ion (gÙr`g*n"yn), n.; pl. Gorgoneia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. ||Gorgo`neios, equiv. to Gorgei^os belonging to a Gorgon.] (Arch.) A ||mask carved in imitation of a Gorgon's head. Elmes.

||Gor*go"ni*a (gÙr*g"n*), n. [L., a coral which hardens in the air.] ||(Zoˆl.) 1. A genus of Gorgoniacea, formerly very extensive, but now ||restricted to such species as the West Indian sea fan (Gorgonia ||flabellum), sea plume (G. setosa), and other allied species having a ||flexible, horny axis.

2. Any slender branched gorgonian.

||Gor*go`ni*a"ce*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Gorgonia.] (Zoˆl.) One of the ||principal divisions of Alcyonaria, including those forms which have a ||firm and usually branched axis, covered with a porous crust, or ||cúnenchyma, in which the polyp cells are situated.

The axis is commonly horny, but it may be solid and stony (composed of calcium carbonate), as in the red coral of commerce, or it may be in alternating horny and stony joints, as in Isis. See Alcyonaria, Anthozoa, Cúnenchyma.

Gor*go"ni*an (?), a. [L. Gorgoneus.]

1. Pertaining to, or resembling, a Gorgon; terrifying into stone; terrific.

The rest his look Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move.

Milton.

2. (Zoˆl.) Pertaining to the Gorgoniacea; as, gorgonian coral.

Gor*go"ni*an, n. (Zoˆl.) One of the Gorgoniacea.

Gor"gon*ize (?), v. t. To have the effect of a Gorgon upon; to turn into stone; to petrify. [R.]

Gor"hen` (?), n. [Gor- as in gorcock + hen.] (Zoˆl.) The female of the gorcock.

Go*ril"la (?), n. [An African word; found in a Greek translation of a treatise in Punic by Hanno, a Carthaginian.] (Zoˆl.) A large, arboreal, anthropoid ape of West Africa. It is larger than a man, and is remarkable for its massive skeleton and powerful muscles, which give it enormous strength. In some respects its anatomy, more than that of any other ape, except the chimpanzee, resembles that of man.

Gor"ing (?), or Gor"ing cloth` (&?;), n., (Naut.) A piece of canvas cut obliquely to widen a sail at the foot.

Gorm (?), n. Axle grease. See Gome. [Prov. Eng.]

Gorm, v. t. To daub, as the hands or clothing, with gorm; to daub with anything sticky. [Prov. Eng.]

Gor"ma (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The European cormorant.

Gor"mand (?), n. [F. gourmand; cf. Prov. F. gourmer to sip, to lap, gourmacher to eat improperly, F. gourme mumps, glanders, Icel. gormr mud, mire, Prov. E. gorm to smear, daub; all perh. akin to E. gore blood, filth. Cf. Gourmand.] A greedy or ravenous eater; a luxurious feeder; a gourmand.

Gor"mand, a. Gluttonous; voracious. Pope.

Gor"mand*er (?), n. See Gormand, n. [Obs.]

Gor"mand*ism (?), n. Gluttony.

Gor"mand*ize (?), v. i. & t. [imp. & p. p. Gormandized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Gormandizing (?).] [F. gourmandise gluttony. See Gormand.] To eat greedily; to swallow voraciously; to feed ravenously or like a glutton. Shak.

Gor"mand*i`zer (?), n. A greedy, voracious eater; a gormand; a glutton.

Go*roon" shell` (?). (Zoˆl.) A large, handsome, marine, univalve shell (Triton femorale).

Gorse (?), n. [OE. & AS. gorst; perh. akin to E. grow, grass.] (Bot.) Furze. See Furze.

The common, overgrown with fern, and rough With prickly gorse.

Cowper.

Gorse bird (Zoˆl.), the European linnet; -- called also gorse hatcher. [Prov. Eng.] -- Gorse chat (Zoˆl.), the winchat. -- Gorse duck, the corncrake; -- called also grass drake, land drake, and corn drake.

Gor"y (?), a. [From Gore.]

1. Covered with gore or clotted blood.

Thou canst not say I did it; never shake Thy gory locks at me.

Shak.

2. Bloody; murderous. "Gory emulation." Shak.

Gos"hawk` (?), n. [AS. g&?;shafuc, lit., goosehawk; or Icel. gshaukr. See Goose, and Hawk the bird.] (Zoˆl.) Any large hawk of the genus Astur, of which many species and varieties are known. The European (Astur palumbarius) and the American (A. atricapillus) are the best known species. They are noted for their powerful flight, activity, and courage. The Australian goshawk (A. NovÊ-HollandiÊ) is pure white.

Gos"herd (?), n. [OE. gosherde. See Goose, and Herd a herdsman.] One who takes care of geese.

Gos"let (?), n. (Zoˆl.) One of several species of pygmy geese, of the genus Nettepus. They are about the size of a teal, and inhabit Africa, India, and Australia.

Gos"ling (?), n. [AS. g&?;s goose + -ling.]

1. A young or unfledged goose.

2. A catkin on nut trees and pines. Bailey.

Gos"pel (?), n. [OE. gospel, godspel, AS. godspell; god God + spell story, tale. See God, and Spell, v.]

1. Glad tidings; especially, the good news concerning Christ, the Kingdom of God, and salvation.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

Matt. iv. 23.

The steadfast belief of the promises of the gospel.

Bentley.

It is probable that gospel is from. OE. godspel, God story, the narrative concerning God; but it was early confused with god spell, good story, good tidings, and was so used by the translators of the Authorized version of Scripture. This use has been retained in most cases in the Revised Version.

Thus the literal sense [of gospel] is the "narrative of God," i. e., the life of Christ.

Skeat.

2. One of the four narratives of the life and death of Jesus Christ, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

3. A selection from one of the gospels, for use in a religious service; as, the gospel for the day.

4. Any system of religious doctrine; sometimes, any system of political doctrine or social philosophy; as, this political gospel. Burke.

5. Anything propounded or accepted as infallibly true; as, they took his words for gospel. [Colloq.]

If any one thinks this expression hyperbolical, I shall only ask him to read ådipus, instead of taking the traditional witticisms about Lee for gospel.

Saintsbury.

Gos"pel, a. Accordant with, or relating to, the gospel; evangelical; as, gospel righteousness. Bp. Warburton.

Gos"pel, v. t. To instruct in the gospel. [Obs.] Shak.

Gos"pel*er (?), n. [AS. godspellere.] [Written also gospeller.] 1. One of the four evangelists. Rom. of R.

Mark the gospeler was the ghostly son of Peter in baptism.

Wyclif.

2. A follower of Wyclif, the first English religious reformer; hence, a Puritan. [Obs.] Latimer.

The persecution was carried on against the gospelers with much fierceness by those of the Roman persuasion.

Strype.

3. A priest or deacon who reads the gospel at the altar during the communion service.

The Archbishop of York was the celebrant, the epistoler being the dean, and the gospeler the Bishop of Sydney.

Pall Mall Gazette.

Gos"pel*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gospelized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Gospelizing (?).] [Written also gospellize.]

1. To form according to the gospel; as, a command gospelized to us. Milton.

2. To instruct in the gospel; to evangelize; as, to gospelize the savages. Boyle.

Goss (?), n. [See Gorse.] Gorse. [Obs.] Shak.

Gos"sa*mer (?), n. [OE. gossomer, gossummer, gosesomer, perh. for goose summer, from its downy appearance, or perh. for God's summer, cf. G. mariengarr gossamer, properly Mary's yarn, in allusion to the Virgin Mary. Perhaps the E. word alluded to a legend that the gossamer was the remnant of the Virgin Mary's winding sheet, which dropped from her when she was taken up to heaven. For the use of summer in the sense of film or threads, cf. G. M‰dchensommer, Altweibersommer, fliegender Sommer, all meaning, gossamer.]

1. A fine, filmy substance, like cobwebs, floating in the air, in calm, clear weather, especially in autumn. It is seen in stubble fields and on furze or low bushes, and is formed by small spiders.

2. Any very thin gauzelike fabric; also, a thin waterproof stuff.

3. An outer garment, made of waterproof gossamer.

Gossamer spider (Zoˆl.), any small or young spider which spins webs by which to sail in the air. See Ballooning spider.

Gos"sa*mer*y (?), a. Like gossamer; flimsy.

The greatest master of gossamery affectation.

De Quincey.

Gos"san (?), n. (Geol.) Decomposed rock, usually reddish or ferruginous (owing to oxidized pyrites), forming the upper part of a metallic vein.

Gos`san*if"er*ous (?), a. [Gossan + -ferous.] Containing or producing gossan.

Gos"sat (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A small British marine fish (Motella tricirrata); -- called also whistler and three-bearded rockling. [Prov. Eng.]

Gos"sib (?), n. A gossip. [Obs.] Chaucer. Spenser.

Gos"sip (?), n. [OE. gossib, godsib, a relation or sponsor in baptism, a relation by a religious obligation, AS. godsibb, fr. god + sib alliance, relation; akin to G. sippe, Goth. sibja, and also to Skr. sabh assembly.]

1. A sponsor; a godfather or a godmother.

Should a great lady that was invited to be a gossip, in her place send her kitchen maid, 't would be ill taken.

Selden.

2. A friend or comrade; a companion; a familiar and customary acquaintance. [Obs.]

My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal.

Shak.

3. One who runs house to house, tattling and telling news; an idle tattler.

The common chat of gossips when they meet.

Dryden.

4. The tattle of a gossip; groundless rumor.

Bubbles o'er like a city with gossip, scandal, and spite.

Tennyson.

Gos"sip, v. t. To stand sponsor to. [Obs.] Shak.

Gos"sip, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Gossiped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Gossiping.] 1. To make merry. [Obs.] Shak.

2. To prate; to chat; to talk much. Shak.

3. To run about and tattle; to tell idle tales.

Gos"sip*er (?), n. One given to gossip. Beaconsfield.

Gos"sip*rede (?), n. [Cf. Kindred.] The relationship between a person and his sponsors. [Obs.]

Gos"sip*ry (?), n. 1. Spiritual relationship or affinity; gossiprede; special intimacy. Bale.