give

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] English

Wikipedia-logo.png
 Give on Wikipedia

Wikipedia

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology

Middle English given, from Old Norse gefa 'to give' (compare Danish give, Swedish giva), from Proto-Germanic *gebanan (“to give”) (compare West Frisian jaan, Dutch geven, German geben), from Proto-Indo-European *ghab(h)- (“to take, hold, have”) (compare Old Irish gaibim 'I hold', Latin habēre 'to have', Lithuanian gabenti 'to take away', gabana 'armful', Polish gabać 'to seize', Sanskrit gabhasti 'hand'). This verb displaced native Middle English yiven, yeven, from Old English giefan, gifan. More at gift.

[edit] Verb

give (third-person singular simple present gives, present participle giving, simple past gave, past participle given)

  1. (transitive) To transfer one's possession or holding of.
    I gave him my coat.
    I gave my coat to the beggar.
    When they asked, I gave my coat.
  2. (transitive) To make a present or gift of.
    I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.
    She gave a pair of shoes to her husband for their anniversary.
    He gives of his energies to the organization.
  3. (intransitive) To yield slightly when a force is applied.
    • 1992 January 28, Garry Wills, “prologue”, in Lincoln at Gettysburg, page 21:
      A soldier noticed how earth "gave" as he walked over the shallow trenches.
  4. (ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability for something).
    I give it ten minutes before he gives up.
    I give it a 95% chance of success.
    I'll give their marriage six months.
  5. (intransitive) To collapse under pressure or force.
    One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.
  6. (transitive) To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
    They're giving my favorite show!
    • 2003, Iain Aitken, Value-Driven IT Management: Commercializing the IT Function, page 153
      [...] who did not have a culture in which 'giving good presentation' and successfully playing the internal political game was the way up.
    • 2006, Christopher Matthew Spencer The Ebay Entrepreneur, page 248
      A friendly voice on the phone welcoming prospective new clients is a must. Don't underestimate the importance of giving good "phone".
  7. (intransitive) To lead (onto or into).
    The master bedroom gives onto a spacious balcony.
  8. To pledge.
    I gave my word that I'd protect his children.
  9. (transitive) To provide (something) to someone, to allow or afford.
    I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.
    Give me some more time.
  10. To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in.
    It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight.
    The fence gave me an electric shock.
    My mother-in-law gives me nothing but grief.
  11. To carry out (a physical movement).
    I want to give you a kiss.
    She gave him a hug.
    I'd like to give him a kick.
    I gave the boy a push on the swing.
    She gave me a wink afterwards, so I knew she was joking.
  12. (transitive) To pass (something) into someone's hand or the like.
    Give me your hand.
    On entering the house, he gave his coat to the doorman.
  13. This word needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
    My boyfriend gave me chlamydia.
    What gives?

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Antonyms

  • (transfer possession of): get, obtain, receive, take
  • (bend slightly when a force is applied): not bend/cede/flex/give/move/yield, resist

[edit] Derived terms

See also given, giver and giving

Terms derived from give

[edit] Translations

transfer the possession of something to someone else
bend slightly when a force is applied
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

[edit] Noun

give (uncountable)

  1. (uncountable) The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it.
    This chair doesn't have much give.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Danish

[edit] Alternative forms

  • gi' (representing the spoken language)

[edit] Etymology

From Old Norse gefa.

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɡiː/, [ɡ̊iːˀ], [ɡ̊i]

[edit] Verb

give (imperative giv, infinitive at give, present tense giver, past tense gav, past participle har givet)

  1. give
Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=give&oldid=15792204"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Views
Actions
Navigation
Toolbox
In other languages