Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

gist

/d͡ʒɪst/ noun

Latin root: iacēre Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gist at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work.
The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience.
the gist of the prosecutor's argument

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word