gibn.1
/ɡɪb/ Obsolete except in combinations.
1. A familiar name given to a cat. to play fy gib (? to say ‘fie’ to the cat), to utter threats, to look threateningly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [noun]
cata800
bad?a1325
gibc1400
baudrons?a1500
house cat?1527
puss-cata1529
puss1533
puss1598
mewer1611
mewler1611
Tibert1616
malkina1627
grimalkin1630
meower1632
miauler1632
pussycat1698
pussy1699
tigerkin1849
moggie1911
pussums1912
mog1926
c1400 Inscr. in Proc. Soc. Antiq. (1886) 11 Mar. Gret: wel: gibbe: oure: cat.
c1400 Rom. Rose 6204 For right no mo than Gibbe [Fr. Tibers] our cat.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Two Mice l. 326 in Poems (1981) 16 Scantlie had thay drunkin anis or twyse, Quhen in come Gib Hunter, our iolie cat.
a1529 J. Skelton Phyllyp Sparowe (?1545) sig. A.iiv To call Phylyp agayne Whom Gyb our cat hath slayne.
1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle i. v. sig. Aiiiiv Gyb our cats two eyes..Gyb sh[u]t her two eyes.
1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle iii. iii. sig. Ciii Mary fy on thee, thou old gyb, with al my very hart.
1640 W. Prynne Lord Bishops viii. sig. Ij He playes fy gib with his thunderbolt of Excommunication.
2. A cat, esp. a male cat (cf. Gib a male ferret in Chester Gloss.); in later dialectal use, one that has been castrated. to play the gib: (of a woman) to act the cat (see cat and dog n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [noun] > male > castrated
gib1541
gib-cat1598
gibbed cat1633
1541 Schole House of Women sig. B.ivv Nature she foloweth, and playeth the gyb, And at her husbande, doth barke and ball, As doth the curre.
1600 Wisdome Doctor Dodypoll iii. sig. E1 This is Melpomene that Scottish witch, Whom I will scratche, like to some villanous gibb.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. iv. 174 Who..Would..from a bat, a gib, Such deare conceruings hide. View more context for this quotation
a1625 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Knight of Malta v. ii, in Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Mmmmm4/1 Wee'l call him Cacodemon, with his block gib there.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. viii. §1. 199 Male..Dog, Gib, Cock, [etc.].
1804 J. Duncumb Coll. Hist. County Hereford I. 213 Gib, a male cat, castrated.
3. A term of reproach, esp. for an old woman.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > held in reproach > female
casbaldc1440
giba1529
cosbaude1570
tarleather1575
scolopendra1633
fleak1636
a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 99 She is a tonnish gyb.
1598 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. (new ed.) f. 52 Call me Beldam, Gib, Witch, Night-mare, trot.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. I2 'Faith gib, are you spitting, I'le cut your tayle pus-cat for this.
a1687 C. Cotton Poet. Wks. (1765) 122 And humbly the old Gib beseeches To shew her utmost Skill and Cunning.
4. gib-cat n. = sense 2. Now only archaic and dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [noun] > male > castrated
gib1541
gib-cat1598
gibbed cat1633
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. ii. 74 I am as melancholy as a gyb Cat . View more context for this quotation
1667 S. Pepys Diary 29 Nov. (1974) VIII. 553 Our young gibb-cat did leap down our stairs..at two leaps.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Gib cat, a northern name for a he cat, there commonly called Gilbert.
1820 C. Lamb in London Mag. Aug. 143/2 Melancholy as a gib-cat over his counter all the forenoon.
1895 S. R. Crockett Men of Moss-hags 103 I declare I purred like our gib cat.
Derivatives
ΚΠ
1616 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Scornful Ladie v. sig. H3v Bring out the Cat hounds, ile make you take a tree whore, then with my tyller bring downe your Gibship.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† gibn.2
Obsolete.
1. A hump.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > body and limbs > [noun] > hump
bunchc1325
botchc1330
gibc1440
kibe1567
hump1709
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 280/1 Knobbe yn a beestys backe or breste, þat ys clepyd a gybbe.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 192 Camells..varie according to the Countrie they breed in: in..Persia they have but one gib or bunch, the Arabian is doubled.
2. A bale (of cloth, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > roll
bolt1407
gib1526
round1661
ringe1726
block1905
1526 in H. A. Lee-Dillon Calais & Pale (1892) 81 Item, of a gybbe of Wollen clothe outwardes ijd.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
gibn.3
/ɡɪb/ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > hook
hookc900
haspedec1400
cleek1426
cleek-staffc1440
cramp1503
hock1530
gib-crook1564
cramp-iron1565
gib1567
cramper1598
bench hook1619
crampon1660
wall-hook1681
dressing hook1683
woodcock-eye1796
doghook1821
click1846
clipper1849
ice hook1853
witchetty1862
slip-hook1863
snap-hook1875
clip-hook1882
pelican1890
snake hook1944
1567 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 278 A rosting Iron, a pair of gibbes, iij pair of pott clipps.
2. (See quots.)
ΚΠ
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 331 Gib (the g hard, as in gild), a hook: a gibby stick, a hooked stick.
1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 70 Gib, a wooden hook... A nutting gib, a nutting hook.
3. The hooked gristle which grows at the end of the lower jaw of a male salmon after spawning; = kip n.2 Also in combinations, as gib-fish n. a salmon with a ‘gib’. (Otherwise explained in quot. 18672.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > family Salmonidae (salmon) > [noun] > genus Salmo > salmo salar (salmon) > parts of
salmon bellowsc1460
gib1818
helm1861
parr marks1880
1818 Sporting Mag. 1 290 At the end of his lower chop, there grows a hard boney gib, from which they are then called the gib-fish.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Gibb, the beak, or hooked upper lip of a male salmon.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Gib-fish, a northern name for the male of a salmon.
Compounds
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > hook
hookc900
haspedec1400
cleek1426
cleek-staffc1440
cramp1503
hock1530
gib-crook1564
cramp-iron1565
gib1567
cramper1598
bench hook1619
crampon1660
wall-hook1681
dressing hook1683
woodcock-eye1796
doghook1821
click1846
clipper1849
ice hook1853
witchetty1862
slip-hook1863
snap-hook1875
clip-hook1882
pelican1890
snake hook1944
1564 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 223 One payre of toynges, gibcrokes, rakincroke, and racks xxs.
gib-staff n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 21 Gib-staffe, a Quarter-staffe.
1721 in N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict.
1847 J. Craig New Universal Dict. Gibstaff, a staff to gauge water or to push a boat; formerly, the name of a weapon used in fighting beasts on the stage.
gib-stick n. = sense 2.
ΚΠ
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Agib stick, a stick that is bent-headed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
gibn.4
/dʒɪb/, U.S. /dʒɪb/ slang.
A prison.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun]
quarternOE
prisona1200
jailc1275
lodgec1290
galleya1300
chartrea1325
ward1338
keepingc1384
prison-house1419
lying-house1423
javel1483
tollbooth1488
kidcotec1515
clinkc1530
warding-place1571
the hangman's budget1589
Newgate1592
gehenna1594
Lob's pound1597
caperdewsie1599
footman's inn1604
cappadochio1607
pena1640
marshalsea1652
log-house1662
bastille1663
naskin1673
state prison1684
tronk1693
stone-doublet1694
iron or stone doublet1698
college1699
nask1699
quod1699
shop1699
black hole1707
start1735
coop1785
blockhouse1796
stone jug1796
calaboose1797
factory1806
bull-pen1809
steel1811
jigger1812
jug1815
kitty1825
rock pile1830
bughouse1842
zindan1844
model1845
black house1846
tench1850
mill1851
stir1851
hoppet1855
booby hatch1859
caboose1865
cooler1872
skookum house1873
chokey1874
gib1877
nick1882
choker1884
logs1888
booby house1894
big house1905
hoosegow1911
can1912
detention camp1916
pokey1919
slammer1952
joint1953
slam1960
1877 W. H. Thomson Five Years' Penal Servitude iii. 221 I did a lagging of seven, and was at the Gib. three out of it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
gibn.5
/dʒɪb/, /ɡɪb/, U.S. /dʒɪb/ 1. A piece of wood or metal employed to keep something else, e.g. some part of a machine, in place.
a. A bolt, pin, or wedge for insertion in a hole, to fasten the adjoining parts more tightly together. gib and cotter, gib and key: a two-part contrivance, consisting of a fixed and a movable wedge, used to tighten the strap at the end of a connecting rod.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > pin or peg
preenOE
prickOE
kevel1251
pina1275
prag1354
key1434
peg1440
tholec1440
thole-pinc1440
lock1514
cotterel1570
pivot1730
pinning1742
steady pin1791
gib1795
needle1811
lockdown1832
cotter1842
peglet1890
pushpin1903
1795 W. Felton Treat. Carriages II. (Gloss.) 221 Gib, a small half round wedge, which keeps the pole from rising.
1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 150/1 The corners were secured by a strong iron strap with a gib and key.
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 78 The rectangular hole for the gib and cutter.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 339 Gib, a forelock.
1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 732/1 The pin is sometimes rectangular in section, and tapered or parallel lengthwise. ‘Gibs’ and ‘cottars’ are examples of the latter.
1887 D. A. Low Introd. Machine Drawing 49 The gib is provided with horns at its ends to keep it in its place.
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 91 The gib and cottar arrangement is that in which the cottar is formed in two parts, whose outer faces are parallel with each other, the requisite taper being given to their inner or sliding faces.
b. A bearing surface to reduce friction, or a wedge to take up wear at a sliding contact.
ΚΠ
1873 J. Richards Treat. Wood-working Machines 13 Gibs of lignum vitæ will be found to wear well.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 650/1 The box has two taper-cheeks a a and two taper-gibs b b adjustable by screws, so as to set up the boxing to the wrist and the cheeks to the guides in the cross-head.
c. (See quot. 1902.)
ΚΠ
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 402/2 The extractor [in a Maxim gun] is recessed to take a movable plate termed a ‘gib’, behind which is a spring.
2. Mining. A piece of wood used to support the roof of a coalmine.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > prop or support
crown tree1449
punch1462
prop1613
slider1653
sole1653
yoking1653
stow-blade1681
pit-bar1708
fork1747
head tree1747
studdle1758
lock piece1778
pit-prop1794
puncheon1815
stow-fork1824
plank tubbing1839
sprag1841
gib1847
chock1853
Tom1858
bratticing1866
pack1867
breastboard1877
brattice1881
wall-plate1881
strap1883
stretcher1883
1847 in J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words
1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. Gib, a wooden prop used to support the coal when being ‘holed’.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Gib, a short prop of timber by which the coal is supported whilst being holed or undermined.
Compounds
gib-head n. a head (of a rod, pin, etc.) with projecting shoulder(s).
ΚΠ
1854 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson Knapp's Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 152 The opposite ends of the connecting-rods are provided..with gib-heads.
1887 D. A. Low Introd. Machine Drawing 23 When the point of a key is inaccessible the other end is provided with gib-head.
gib-headed key n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Gib-headed key, a key having a set-off standing at right angles with the thicker end, for convenience of drawing it back in situations where the use of a drift is not practicable.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† gibv.1
Obsolete. rare. Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
Categories »
intransitive. To behave like a gib or cat.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [noun] > male > castrated > behaving like
gibbinga1625
a1625 J. Fletcher Wild-goose Chase (1652) iv. iii. 44 Out Kitlings: What Catterwalling's here? what gibbing?
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
gibv.2
/ɡɪb/ transitive. To disembowel (fish); = gip v.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of seafood > prepare seafood [verb (transitive)] > gut
guta1400
gill1530
garbage1542
geremumble1599
gip1603
to dress down1843
gib1883
1883 Chambers's Jrnl. 271 In the centre another man gibbing or eviscerating the fish.
1893 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. I Gib-tub, a tray in which fish are laid to be gibbed or disemboweled.
Compounds
gib-tub n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1893Gib-tub [see main sense].
Derivatives
ˈgibber n. one who disembowels fish.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
gibv.3
/dʒɪb/, /ɡɪb/, U.S. /dʒɪb/ transitive. To provide or secure with a gib or gibs.
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 398/1 Gibbed lathe, a lathe, the carriage of which has a bar which grips beneath the overhang of the bed, beneath which it is secured by a wedge known as a gib, to prevent the riding up of the carriage.
Derivatives
gibbed adj.
ΚΠ
1893 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. I Gibbed way, a guiding surface provided with gibs for adjustment.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1c1400
n.2c1440
n.31564n.41877n.51795v.1a1625v.21883v.3a1884