gift
/ɡɪft/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.78 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Something given to another voluntarily, without charge.
noun
A talent or natural ability.
noun
Something gained incidentally, without effort.
Example Sentences
- "She gave him a cell phone as a birthday gift."
- "“I thank you for the gift, Dr. Yueh,” Paul said, speaking formally. “It will be our secret. If there is a gift or favor you wish from me, please do not hesitate to ask.” "I . . . need for nothing," Yueh said."
- "But now I know, but now I really know / Of only one thing I am truly very sure / Love is a gift, love is a gift"
- "She bought the model as a surprise gift for a friend who is a lifelong HST fan and railwayman, and who will soon be celebrating a milestone birthday."
- "She had a gift for playing the flute."
- "“[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”"
Etymology
From Middle English yifte, ȝift, partly from Old English ġift, ġyft (“giving, consideration, dowry, wedding”) and Old Norse gipt (“gift, present, wedding”); both from Proto-Germanic *giftiz (“gift”). Equivalent to give + -t (etymologically yive + -t). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian jefte (“gift”), Dutch gift (“gift”) and its doublet gif (“poison”), German Gift (“poison”), Luxembourgish Gëft (“poison”), Vilamovian gejft, gyjft (“poison”), Yiddish גיפֿט (gift, “poison”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish gift (“poison”), Icelandic gift (“gift”). Doublet of yift. Distantly related to English habit, from Latin habitus.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɡɪft/
- British English: /ɡɪft/