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Gift   /gɪft/   Listen
noun
Gift  n.  
1.
Anything given; anything voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation; a present; an offering. "Shall I receive by gift, what of my own,... I can command?"
2.
The act, right, or power of giving or bestowing; as, the office is in the gift of the President.
3.
A bribe; anything given to corrupt. "Neither take a gift, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise."
4.
Some exceptional inborn quality or characteristic; a striking or special talent or aptitude; power; faculty; as, the gift of wit; a gift for speaking.
5.
(Law) A voluntary transfer of real or personal property, without any consideration. It can be perfected only by deed, or in case of personal property, by an actual delivery of possession.
Gift rope (Naut), a rope extended to a boat for towing it; a guest rope.
Synonyms: Present; donation; grant; largess; benefaction; boon; bounty; gratuity; endowment; talent; faculty. Gift, Present, Donation. These words, as here compared, denote something gratuitously imparted to another out of one's property. A gift is something given whether by a superior or an inferior, and is usually designed for the relief or benefit of him who receives it. A present is ordinarly from an equal or inferior, and is always intended as a compliment or expression of kindness. Donation is a word of more dignity, denoting, properly, a gift of considerable value, and ordinarly a gift made either to some public institution, or to an individual on account of his services to the public; as, a donation to a hospital, a charitable society, or a minister.



verb
Gift  v. t.  (past & past part. gifted; pres. part. gifting)  To endow with some power or faculty. See gift (4). "He was gifted... with philosophical sagacity."






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Gift" Quotes from Famous Books



... says Mr. Le Gallienne, and recognise that we only exist "to the praise and glory of God." We are his servants and soldiers, and the pay is life!—"Had he willed it, this glorious gift had never been ours. We might have still slept on unsentient, unorganised, in the trodden dust." Very likely; but who could lose what he never possessed? It is a small misfortune that can never ...
— Flowers of Freethought - (Second Series) • George W. Foote

... and who has not. A Comrade is a familiar Male-friend; a Pagally [4] is an innocent Platonick Friend of the other Sex. All Strangers are in a manner oblig'd to accept of this Acquaintance and Familiarity, which must be first purchased with a small Present, and afterwards confirmed with some Gift or other to continue the Acquaintance: and as often as the Stranger goes ashore, he is welcome to his Comrade or Pagally's House, where he may be entertained for his Money, to Eat, Drink, or Sleep, and complimented, as often as he comes ashore, with Tobacco and Betel-Nut, which is all the Entertainment ...
— The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898--Volume 39 of 55 • Various

... my wife's property, and she intended it as a gift to the parish, for the rectory of the church. I was preparing the deeds of transfer, when she died—suddenly, as some of you remember," his voice made heroic efforts to keep clear and steady, "owing to her death before the transfer, that house ...
— Hepsey Burke • Frank Noyes Westcott

... pleasant walk. The bastions have been turned into little gardens. Here and there, among the shrubs and flowers, may be seen the old culverins which scattered bricks, cased with lead, among the Irish ranks. One antique gun, the gift of the Fishmongers of London, was distinguished, during the hundred and five memorable days, by the loudness of its report, and still bears the name of Roaring Meg. The cathedral is filled with relics and trophies. In the vestibule is a huge shell, one of many hundreds of shells which ...
— The History of England from the Accession of James II. - Volume 3 (of 5) • Thomas Babington Macaulay

... on the edge of the cot, tried to dress her head with the stolen gift of her brother Nicholas, Francois, kneeling, presented a fragment of looking-glass to his sister, who, with her head half-turned round, was occupied in tying the ends of the silk into a large rosette. Very attentive, and very much struck with this coiffure, Francois ...
— The Mysteries of Paris V2 • Eugene Sue


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