gape
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gape
- /ˈɡeɪp/
Rhymes with -eɪp
Where it comes from
From Middle English gapen, from Old Norse gapa (“to gape”) (compare Swedish gapa, Danish gabe), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną (descendants Middle English geapen, Dutch gapen, German gaffen), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰеh₂b-. Cognates include Russian зяпа (zjapa). Doublet of gap.
verb gapes · gaping · gaped
- To open the mouth wide, especially involuntarily, as in a yawn, anger, or surprise. 1723, Jonathan Swift, The Journal of a Modern Lady, 1810, Samuel Johnson, The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper, Volume 11, page 467, She stretches, gapes, unglues her eyes, / And asks if it be time to rise;
- To stare in wonder. Home I vvould go, / But that my Dores are hatefull to my eyes. / Fill'd and damm'd up vvith gaping Creditors, / VVatchfull as Fovvlers vvhen their Game vvill ſpring; […]
- To open wide; to display a gap. The wound was gaping open and losing too much blood.
- To open the passage to the vomeronasal organ, analogous to the flehming in other animals.
- To depict a dilated anal or vaginal cavity upon penetrative sexual activity.
noun gapes
- An act of gaping; a yawn. Now a gen'ral gape goes round, And vapours cloud each sleepy head.
- A large opening.
- A disease in poultry caused by gapeworm in the windpipe, a symptom of which is frequent gaping.
- The width of an opening.
- The maximum opening of the mouth (of a bird, fish, etc.) when it is open.
Translations
Every language
verb to open the mouth wide
| Español | boquear |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 張嘴 /张嘴 zhāngzuǐ |
| Kiswahili | achama |
| Français | bayer, béer |
| Deutsch | gähnen |
| Italiano | spalancare |
| Русский | разева́ть рот razevátʹ rot, рази́нуть рот razínutʹ rot |
verb to stare in wonderment
| Русский | глазе́ть glazétʹ, тара́щиться taráščitʹsja, пя́литься pjálitʹsja |
|---|
verb to open wide
| Español | abrirse |
|---|---|
| Português | escancarar |
| Français | béer |
| Deutsch | klaffen |
| Русский | зия́ть zijátʹ |
noun a yawn
| Русский | зево́к zevók |
|---|
Talk about this word "gape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gape. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gape. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gape "gape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gape.Cite this
@misc{gape_2026,
title = {gape},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gape},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
