Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Rare; uncommon.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Rare; wonderful.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective rare or dialectal Rare; uncommon; scarce.
  • adjective Difficult to procure; scant; sparing.
  • adjective rare or dialectal Unusual; wonderful.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English geson, gesene ("rare, scarce"), from Old English gǣsne ("deprived of, wanting, destitute, barren, sterile, dead"), from Proto-Germanic *gaisnijaz (“barren, poor”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰē- (“to be gaping, yawn”). Cognate with North Frisian gast ("barren"), Low German güst ("barren"), Old High German geisini, keisini ("lack").

Support

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Examples

  • Thie geason [137] wronges bee reyne [138] ynto theyre pryme; 120

    The Rowley Poems Thomas Chatterton

  • No, no, such fellowes are _Rarae aves in terris, nigrisque similimi cygnis_, Rare birds upon the earth, and as geason as blacke swans.

    Flowers from a Persian Garden and Other Papers William Alexander Clouston 1869

  • If the word-lovers can agree to throw in an acknowledgment whenever we use a geason word - one that's rare or extraordinary - and the word-avoiders can agree to be a little less impatient with us when we do (and not take it personally), then problem solved.

    Boston Globe -- Ideas section Erin McKean 2010

  • Mr. Wheeler, at Akron, is the only man on the Ohio canal, that we know of, that has been in the business longer than we have on our canal, and we defy you to find a boatman on our canal or river that will say we ever detained them beyond a reasonable time; and there is no need of it if men do as they would be done by, and the situation our river has been in this geason has been vexatious enough for any one.

    Cleveland Past and Present Its Representative Men Maurice [Unknown role] Joblin

Comments

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  • a. 1.Rare; wonderful.

    December 31, 2006

  • JM observes that this seems to be geason season.

    April 29, 2010