Part 492

Gimp (?), a. [W. gwymp fair, neat, comely.] Smart; spruce; trim; nice. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Gimp, n. [OF. guimpe, guimple, a nun's wimple, F. guimpe, OHG. wimpal a veil G. wimpel pennon, pendant. See Wimple, n.] A narrow ornamental fabric of silk, woolen, or cotton, often with a metallic wire, or sometimes a coarse cord, running through it; -- used as trimming for dresses, furniture, etc.

Gimp nail, an upholsterer's small nail.

Gimp, v. t. To notch; to indent; to jag.

Gin (?), prep. [AS. ge·n. See Again.] Against; near by; towards; as, gin night. [Scot.] A. Ross (1778).

Gin, conj. [See Gin, prep.] If. [Scotch] Jamieson.

Gin (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Gan (?), Gon (&?;), or Gun (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Ginning.] [OE. ginnen, AS. ginnan (in comp.), prob. orig., to open, cut open, cf. OHG. inginnan to begin, open, cut open, and prob. akin to AS. gnan to yawn, and E. yawn. &?; See Yawn, v. i., and cf. Begin.] To begin; -- often followed by an infinitive without to; as, gan tell. See Gan. [Obs. or Archaic] "He gan to pray." Chaucer.

Gin (?), n. [Contr. from Geneva. See 2d Geneva.] A strong alcoholic liquor, distilled from rye and barley, and flavored with juniper berries; -- also called Hollands and Holland gin, because originally, and still very extensively, manufactured in Holland. Common gin is usually flavored with turpentine.

Gin (?), n. [A contraction of engine.]

1. Contrivance; artifice; a trap; a snare. Chaucer. Spenser.

2. (a) A machine for raising or moving heavy weights, consisting of a tripod formed of poles united at the top, with a windlass, pulleys, ropes, etc. (b) (Mining) A hoisting drum, usually vertical; a whim.

3. A machine for separating the seeds from cotton; a cotton gin.

The name is also given to an instrument of torture worked with screws, and to a pump moved by rotary sails.

Gin block, a simple form of tackle block, having one wheel, over which a rope runs; -- called also whip gin, rubbish pulley, and monkey wheel. -- Gin power, a form of horse power for driving a cotton gin. -- Gin race, or Gin ring, the path of the horse when putting a gin in motion. Halliwell. -- Gin saw, a saw used in a cotton gin for drawing the fibers through the grid, leaving the seed in the hopper. -- Gin wheel. (a) In a cotton gin, a wheel for drawing the fiber through the grid; a brush wheel to clean away the lint. (b) (Mining) the drum of a whim.

Gin, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ginned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Ginning.] 1. To catch in a trap. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

2. To clear of seeds by a machine; as, to gin cotton.

Ging (?), n. Same as Gang, n., 2. [Obs.]

There is a knot, a ging, a pack, a conspiracy against me.

Shak.

Gin*gal" (?), n. See Jingal.

Gin"ger (?), n. [OE. ginger, gingever, gingivere, OF. gengibre, gingimbre, F. gingembre, L. zingiber, zingiberi, fr. Gr. &?;; of Oriental origin; cf. Ar. & Pers. zenjebl, fr. Skr. &?;&?;&?;gavÎra, prop., hornshaped; &?;&?;&?;ga horn + vÎra body.]

1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Zingiber, of the East and West Indies. The species most known is Z. officinale.

2. The hot and spicy rootstock of Zingiber officinale, which is much used in cookery and in medicine.

Ginger beer or ale, a mild beer impregnated with ginger. -- Ginger cordial, a liquor made from ginger, raisins, lemon rind, and water, and sometimes whisky or brandy. -- Ginger pop. See Ginger beer (above). -- Ginger wine, wine impregnated with ginger. -- Wild ginger (Bot.), an American herb (Asarum Canadense) with two reniform leaves and a long, cordlike rootstock which has a strong taste of ginger.

Gin"ger*bread` (?), n. A kind of plain sweet cake seasoned with ginger, and sometimes made in fanciful shapes. "Gingerbread that was full fine." Chaucer.

Gingerbread tree (Bot.), the doom palm; -- so called from the resemblance of its fruit to gingerbread. See Doom Palm. -- Gingerbread work, ornamentation, in architecture or decoration, of a fantastic, trivial, or tawdry character.

Gin"ger*ly, adv. [Prov. E. ginger brittle, tender; cf. dial. Sw. gingla, g‰ngla, to go gently, totter, akin to E. gang.] Cautiously; timidly; fastidiously; daintily.

What is't that you took up so gingerly ?