Give Definition
(uncountable) The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it.
- To behave or perform creditably.
- To bear as offspring.
- To be the origin of:
a hobby that gave birth to a successful business.
- To yield to a more powerful force; retreat.
- To punish or reprimand severely:
My parents really gave it to me for coming in late.
- Plus or minus a small specified amount:
The chalet is close to the road, give or take a few hundred yards.
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Give
- give a good account of (oneself)
- give birth to
- give ground
- give it to
- give or take
- give rise to
- give (someone) a piece of (one's) mind
- give (someone) a hard time
- give (someone) the eye
- give the lie to
- give up the ghost
- give way
- give and take
- give away
- give back
- give forth
- give in
- give it to
- give off
- give or take
- give out
- give over
- give to understand (or believe, etc.)
- give up
- what gives?
Origin of Give
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From Middle English given, from Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰ- (“to take, hold, have”). Displaced or merged with native Middle English yiven, ȝeven, from Old English ġiefan, from the same Proto-Germanic source (cf. the inherited now obsolete English doublet yive). Cognate with Scots gie (“to give”), Danish give (“to give”), Swedish giva, ge (“to give”), Icelandic gefa (“to give”), North Frisian jiw, jiiw, jeewe (“to give”), West Frisian jaan (“to give”), Low German geven (“to give”), Dutch geven (“to give”), German geben (“to give”), Latin habeō (“have, hold”), Old Irish gaibim (“I hold”), Lithuanian gabenti (“to carry, transport”), Polish gabać (“to grab, snatch”), Sanskrit गभस्ति (gabhasti, “hand”).
From Wiktionary
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Middle English given from Old English giefan Old Norse gefa ghabh- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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