Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “gist” come from?

Gist comes from Old French gist, from Old French gesir meaning "to lie," from Latin iaceo, from Proto-Italic jakēō, from Proto-Indo-European (H)yeh₁-.

gist (English): The most essential part; the main idea or...

Definitions

  1. The most essential part; the main idea or...

Ancestry of “gist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchgistthird-person singular present indicative of gesir
2Old Frenchgesirto lie down; to rest, to take rest
3Latiniacerepresent active infinitive of iaciō; second-person...
4Latiniaceō—
5Latin-eō—
6Proto-Italic-ēōForms stative verbs, indicating a state of being;...
7Proto-Italic-ējō—
8Proto-Indo-European-éh₁yetiThematicization of the athematic stative verbal...
9Proto-Indo-European-yetiCreates transitive imperfective verbs from roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yeti →