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  1. gape love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To open the mouth wide; yawn.
  2. v. To stare wonderingly or stupidly, often with the mouth open. See Synonyms at gaze.
  3. v. To open wide: The curtains gaped when the wind blew.
  4. n. The act or an instance of gaping.
  5. n. A large opening.
  6. n. Zoology The width of the space between the open jaws or mandibles of a vertebrate.
  7. n. A disease of birds, especially young domesticated chickens and turkeys, caused by gapeworms and resulting in obstructed breathing.
  8. n. A fit of yawning.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To open the mouth involuntarily or as the result of weariness, sleepiness, or absorbed attention; yawn.
  2. According to the inducing cause of the gaping, the verb, without losing its literal meaning, usually takes on an additional specific sense.
  3. To yawn from sleepiness, weariness, or dullness.
  4. To open the mouth for food, as young birds.
  5. Hence — To open the mouth in eager expectation; expect, await, or hope for, with the intent to receive or devour. See phrases below.
  6. To stand with open mouth in wonder, astonishment, or admiration; stand and gaze; stare. See phrases below, and gaping.
  7. To open as a gap, fissure, or chasm; split open; become fissured; show a fissure.
  8. To stand in eager expectation of; covet; desire; long for.
  9. To covet, desire; long for.
  10. Synonyms Gaze, etc. See stare.
  11. n. The act of gaping.
  12. n. A fit of yawning: commonly in the plural.
  13. n. In zoology:
  14. n. The width of the mouth when opened; the interval between the upper and under mandibles; the rictus, or commissural line. See first cut under bill.
  15. n. The gap or interval between the valves of a bivalve mollusk where the edges of the valves do not fit together when the shell is shut. See gaper, 4.
  16. n. plural A disease of young poultry, caused by the presence of a nematoid worm or strongyle (Syngamus trachealis) in the windpipe, attended by frequent gaping as a symptom.

Wiktionary

  1. v. intransitive To open the mouth wide, especially involuntarily, as in a yawn, anger, or surprise.
  2. v. intransitive To stare in wonder.
  3. v. intransitive To open wide; to display a gap.
  4. n. uncommon An act of gaping; a yawn.
  5. n. A large opening.
  6. n. A disease in poultry caused by gapeworm in the windpipe, a symptom of which is frequent gaping.
  7. n. zoology The width of the mouth (of a bird, fish, etc.) when it is open.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To open the mouth wide.
  2. v. Expressing a desire for food.
  3. v. Indicating sleepiness or indifference; to yawn.
  4. v. Showing unselfconsciousness in surprise, astonishment, expectation, etc.
  5. v. Manifesting a desire to injure, devour, or overcome.
  6. v. To open or part widely; to exhibit a gap, fissure, or hiatus.
  7. v. To long, wait eagerly, or cry aloud for something; -- with for, after, or at.
  8. n. The act of gaping; a yawn.
  9. n. (Zoöl.) The width of the mouth when opened, as of birds, fishes, etc.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. look with amazement; look stupidly
  2. v. be wide open
  3. n. a stare of amazement (usually with the mouth open)
  4. n. an expression of openmouthed astonishment

Etymologies

  1. From Middle English gapen, from Old Norse gapa ("to gape") (compare Swedish gapa, Danish gabe), from Proto-Germanic *gapōnan (descendants Middle English geapen, Dutch gapen, German gaffen), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ghēp-. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English gapen, from Old Norse gapa. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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‘gape’ has been looked up 3586 times, loved by 3 people, added to 31 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 7.