gesture
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English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From Medieval Latin gestūra (“a mode of action”), from Latin gerō (“to bear; (reflexive) bear oneself, behave, act”), past participle gestus.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃə/
- (GenAm) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃɚ/, /ˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃɝ/
Audio (GA): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛst͡ʃə(ɹ)
Noun
[edit]gesture (plural gestures)
- A motion of the limbs or body, especially one made to emphasize speech.
- The middle-finger gesture is really a nonverbal swear.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, / In every gesture dignity and love.
- An act or a remark that serves as a formality or as a sign of attitude.
- We took flowers as a gesture of sympathy.
- 1922, Michael Arlen, “2/4/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[1]:
- But, with a gesture, she put a period to this dalliance—one shouldn't palter so on an empty stomach, she might almost have said.
- (graphical user interface) A motion made with a pointing device, or on a touchscreen, that is recognised by the system as a command.
- This Web browser can be controlled with mouse gestures.
- (obsolete) The manner of carrying the body; position of the body or limbs; posture.
- 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
- Accubation, or lying down at meals, was a gesture used by very many nations.
Derived terms
[edit]- countergesture
- gesticulate
- gesticulation
- gesticulative
- gestural
- gestureless
- gesturelike
- gesturement
- gesture politics
- gesturer
- rhythmic gesture
Translations
[edit]motion of the limbs or body
|
act or remark
|
Verb
[edit]gesture (third-person singular simple present gestures, present participle gesturing, simple past and past participle gestured)
- (intransitive) To make a gesture or gestures.
- My dad told me never to gesture with my hands when I talk.
- Never gesture at someone using your middle finger: it may be perceived as an insult.
- (transitive) To express something by a gesture or gestures.
- He gestured his disgust.
- (transitive) To accompany or illustrate with gesture or action.
- 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
- It is not orderly read, nor gestured as beseemeth.
Synonyms
[edit]- ((intransitive) make a gesture): gesticulate
Hyponyms
[edit]- ((intransitive) make a gesture): beckon
Translations
[edit]to make a gesture
|
to express something by a gesture
See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “gesture”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “gesture”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Alemannic German
[edit]Adjective
[edit]gesture
- Alternative form of gesturm
Latin
[edit]Participle
[edit]gestūre
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eǵ-
- English terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛst͡ʃə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɛst͡ʃə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Graphical user interface
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Body language
- Alemannic German lemmas
- Alemannic German adjectives
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin participle forms