gist
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gist

noun \ˈjist\

Definition of GIST

1
: the ground of a legal action
2
: the main point or part : essence <the gist of an argument>

Examples of GIST

  1. <didn't catch every word between them, but heard enough to get the gist of the conversation>
  2. … Einstein showed how time intervals depend on the motion of people and clocks doing the measuring. And that's the gist of relativity. —Alan Lightman, Science, January/February 1984

Origin of GIST

Anglo-French, it lies, from gisir to lie, ultimately from Latin jacēre — more at adjacent
First Known Use: circa 1711

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