gesture
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Medieval Latin gestura (“a mode of action”), from Latin gerere (“to bear, reflexive bear oneself, behave, act”), past participle gestus.
Pronunciation [edit]
-
Audio (US) (file)
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.
- This Web browser can be controlled with mouse gestures.
- An act or a remark made as a formality or as a sign of attitude.
- We took flowers as a gesture of sympathy.
- 1922, Michael Arlen, chapter 2/4/1, “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.
Related terms [edit]
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 said to never gesture with my hands when I talk.
- (transitive) To express something by a gesture or gestures.
- Never gesture at someone with a middle finger.
Synonyms [edit]
- ((intransitive) make a gesture): gesticulate
Hyponyms [edit]
- ((intransitive) make a gesture): beckon
Translations [edit]
(intransitive) to make a gesture
|
(transitive) to express something by a gesture
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
|
See also [edit]
External links [edit]
- gesture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- gesture in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Latin [edit]
Participle [edit]
gestūre
- vocative masculine singular of gestūrus
