gape
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English gapen, from Old Norse gapa (“to gape”) (compare Swedish gapa, Danish gabe), from Proto-Germanic *gapōnan (descendants Middle English geapen, Dutch gapen, German gaffen), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ghēp-.
Pronunciation [edit]
Verb [edit]
gape (third-person singular simple present gapes, present participle gaping, simple past and past participle gaped)
- (intransitive) To open the mouth wide, especially involuntarily, as in a yawn, anger, or surprise.
- (intransitive) To stare in wonder.
- (intransitive) To open wide; to display a gap.
- 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 74:
- "Nor is he deterr'd from the belief of the perpetual flying of the Manucodiata, by the gaping of the feathers of her wings, (which seem thereby less fit to sustain her body) but further makes the narration probable by what he has observed in Kites hovering in the Aire, as he saith, for a whole hour together without any flapping of their wings or changing place."
- 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 74:
Translations [edit]
To open the mouth wide
To open wide
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Noun [edit]
gape (plural gapes)
- (uncommon) An act of gaping; a yawn.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)
- A large opening.
- A disease in poultry caused by gapeworm in the windpipe, a symptom of which is frequent gaping.
- (zoology) The width of the mouth (of a bird, fish, etc.) when it is open.
Derived terms [edit]
Anagrams [edit]
Dutch [edit]
Verb [edit]
gape
