gist
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gist¹
- /d͡ʒɪst/ Australia, Canada, US
Rhymes with -ɪst
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Old French gist, a noun use of the third person singular indicative of gesir (“to lie down”) (modern French gésir; compare Anglo-Norman (cest) action gist (literally “(law) (this) action lies”)), from Latin iacēre, the present active infinitive of iaceō (“to lie down, lie prostrate, recline”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- (“to throw”) (probably in the sense of something being thrown down).
The verb is derived from the noun.
The programming sense is a genericized trademark of GitHub Gist, introduced 2008.
noun gists
-
The main idea or substance, or the most essential part, of a longer or more complicated matter; the crux, the heart, the pith.
I don't wanna belabor my point; I'm sure you get the gist.
Similar: essence, quintessence, thrust
- The essential ground for action in a lawsuit, without which there is no cause of action; the gravamen. [T]heſe charges, of a traiterous or felonious intent, are the points and very giſt of the indictment, and muſt be anſvvered directly, by the general negative, not guilty; […]
- Gossip, rumour; (countable) an instance of this.
- A sharable snippet of source code, especially on the version controlled pastebin-hosting site GitHub Gist. For a simple illustration of the issue, take a look at this gist.
Similar: bowels, sum, brass tacks, core, crux, essence, gist, drift, guts, gravamen, heart, heart and soul, heartstring, heartstrings, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, moral of the story, nitty-gritty, nub, nuts and bolts, pith, punctum saliens, quintessence, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, tenor
verb gists · gisting · gisted
- To extract and present the main ideas or substance, or the most essential parts of (a document, piece of writing, etc.); to abridge, to summarize. There are two general ways of getting information, and these two general ways may be summed up in this: take one branch of study and its principles are all gisted, they have been gisted by the accumulated thought of years gone by. These gisted thoughts are axioms, or received principles, and the pup
- To talk idly; chat; also, to gossip.
gist²
- /d͡ʒɪst/ Australia, Canada, US
Rhymes with -ɪst
Where it comes from
From Middle English giste, geste (“resting or stopping place, hostel, lodgings; food, refreshment; (figurative) seat of the soul”), from Old French giste (“resting place”) (modern French gîte (“lodging, shelter; self-catering holiday home”)), a noun use of the past participle form of gesir (“to lie down”): see etymology 1.
noun gists · gest
- A stop for lodging or rest in a journey, or the place where this happens; a rest. Theſe Quailes have their ſet giſts, to vvit, ordinarie reſting and baiting places.
Similar: bowels, sum, brass tacks, core, crux, essence, gist, drift, guts, gravamen, heart, heart and soul, heartstring, heartstrings, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, moral of the story, nitty-gritty, nub, nuts and bolts, pith, punctum saliens, quintessence, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, tenor
GIST³
noun GISTs
- Initialism of gastrointestinal stromal tumor
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: nitty-gritty, substance, essence, effect, sum, inwardness, burden, center, kernel, heart, marrow, meat, core, pith, nub, crux
noun
Similar: bowels, sum, brass tacks, core, crux, essence, gist, drift, guts, gravamen, heart, heart and soul, heartstring, heartstrings, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, moral of the story, nitty-gritty, nub, nuts and bolts, pith, punctum saliens, quintessence, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, tenor
noun
Similar: bowels, sum, brass tacks, core, crux, essence, gist, drift, guts, gravamen, heart, heart and soul, heartstring, heartstrings, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, moral of the story, nitty-gritty, nub, nuts and bolts, pith, punctum saliens, quintessence, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, tenor
Translations
Every language
noun main idea or substance, or the most essential part, of a longer or more complicated matter — see also crux, essence, pith
| Español | esencia, quid, meollo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 핵심 haeksim |
| 日本語 | 要旨 yōshi, 要点 yōten |
| 中文 | 大要 dàyào, 要點 /要点 yàodiǎn, 要旨 yàozhǐ |
| हिन्दी | सारांश sārāñś |
| Português | âmago, essência, essencial |
| Français | essentiel |
| Deutsch | Hauptinhalt, Hauptpunkt, Kern, Kernaussage, Quintessenz, Wesentliche |
| Italiano | essenza, sostanza, succo |
| Ελληνικά | κεντρική ιδέα kentrikí idéa, ουσία ousía |
| Русский | смысл smysl, су́щность súščnostʹ, суть sutʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | mấu chốt |
| العربية | لُبّ lubb |
| עברית | עיקר ikar |
Talk about this word "gist." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gist. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gist. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gist "gist." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gist.Cite this
@misc{gist_2026,
title = {gist},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gist},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
