gesture

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Medieval Latin gestura (“a mode of action”), from Latin gerere (“to bear, reflexive bear oneself, behave, act”), past participle gestus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒest͡ʃə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

gesture (plural gestures)

1. 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.

   • Milton

     Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, / In every gesture dignity and love.

2. 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.

3. (obsolete) The manner of carrying the body; position of the body or limbs; posture.
   • Sir Thomas Browne

     Accubation, or lying down at meals, was a gesture used by many nations.

Related terms

• countergesture
• gesticulate
• gesticulation
• gesticulative
• gestural
• gestureless
• gesturelike

Translations

motion of the limbs or body

• American Sign Language: FlatB@InsideChesthigh-FlatB@InsideChesthigh CirclesMidline-CirclesMidline
• Arabic: لفتة، لمحة
• Armenian: շարժում (šaržum), ժեստ (žest)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 手勢, 手势 (zh) (shǒushì), 姿勢 (zh), 姿势 (zh) (zīshì)

• Czech: gesto n
• Dutch: gebaar (nl) n
• Finnish: ele (fi), liike (fi)
• French: geste (fr) m
• German: Geste (de) f, Gebärde (de) f, Attitüde (de) f
• Italian: gesto (it)
• Latvian: žests m

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gest m

  Nynorsk: gest m

• Persian: ژست (fa) (žest)
• Portuguese: gesto (pt) m
• Romanian: gest (ro) n
• Russian: жест (ru) m (žest), телодвижение (ru) n (t'elodvižénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: gluasad m
• Slovak: gesto n
• Spanish: gesto (es) m, ademán (es)
• Swedish: gest (sv) c
• Turkish: işaret (tr), jest (tr), (medicine) gesture (tr), el kol hareketi, baş hareketi, el hareketi, kol hareketi

act or remark

• Armenian: ժեստ (žest)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 表示 (zh) (biǎoshì)

• Czech: gesto n
• Dutch: gebaar (nl) n
• Finnish: ele (fi), ilmaus (fi)
• French: geste (fr) m
• German: Geste (de) f

• Latvian: žests m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gest m

  Nynorsk: gest m

• Portuguese: gesto (pt) m
• Russian: жест (ru) m (žest), поступок (ru) m (postúpok)
• Slovak: gesto n
• Spanish: gesto (es) m

Verb

gesture (third-person singular simple present gestures, present participle gesturing, simple past and past participle gestured)

1. (intransitive) To make a gesture or gestures.

   My dad said to never gesture with my hands when I talk.

   Never gesture at someone with a middle finger.

2. (transitive) To express something by a gesture or gestures.

   He gestured his disgust.

3. (transitive) To accompany or illustrate with gesture or action.
   • Hooker

     It is not orderly read, nor gestured as beseemeth.

Synonyms

• ((intransitive) make a gesture): gesticulate

Hyponyms

• ((intransitive) make a gesture): beckon

Translations

(intransitive) to make a gesture

• American Sign Language: FlatB@InsideChesthigh-FlatB@InsideChesthigh CirclesMidline-CirclesMidline
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 做手势, 做手勢 (zuò shǒushì)

• Finnish: elehtiä

• German: gestikulieren
• Maori: tuone
• Russian: жестикулировать (ru) impf (žestikulírovat')
• Slovak: gestikulovať
• Swedish: gestikulera (sv)

(transitive) to express something by a gesture

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 表示 (zh) (biǎoshì)

• Dutch: gebaren (nl)

• Finnish: elehtiä
• German: (jemandem etwas) bedeuten
• Swedish: gestikulera (sv)

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

• Portuguese: gesticular

See also

• Appendix:Gestures

External links

• gesture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• gesture in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Latin

Participle

gestūre

1. vocative masculine singular of gestūrus