gin

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It struck their fancy--gin, all gin!

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Definitions (45)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (10)

  1. noun A strong colorless alcoholic beverage made by distilling or redistilling rye or other grain spirits and adding juniper berries or aromatics such as anise, caraway seeds, or angelica root as flavoring.
  2. noun Any of several machines or devices, especially:
  3. noun A machine for hoisting or moving heavy objects.

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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (8)

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This word has been looked up 232 times.

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Etymologies (9)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Alteration of geneva, from Dutch jenever, from Middle Dutch geniver, juniper, from Old French geneivre, from Vulgar Latin *iiniperus, from Latin iūniperus.
  2. Middle English, from Old French, short for engin, skill; see engine.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (7)

  1. Now written ′gin, being regarded as a modern (although it is an early Middle English) abbreviation of begin; from Middle English ginnen, gynnen, preterit gan, gon, often irreg. can, con, plural gunne, gonne, etc. (= Middle Low German Middle High German ginnen), an early abbreviation, by apheresis, of beginnen, begin: see begin. The simple form does not occur in the earliest records.
  2. Sc, also gen, abbreviation of agin, agen, again, against: see again, gain. Cf. against, preposition, used in the same way.
  3. Sc, a corruption of gif English if, q. v.
  4. from Middle English gin, ginne, gynne, ingenuity, contrivance, a machine, especially a war-engine (battering-ram, etc.), abbreviation from engin, engyn (accented in Middle English on the second syllable), modern English engine, a contrivance: see engine. The sense ‘a trap, snare,’ is modern, and may be due in part to the influence of grin, a snare, which appears in older versions of the Bible in some places where the A. V. has gin: see grin. Certainly not connected with Icelandic ginna, dupe, fool, intoxicate, later ginning, imposture, fraud.
  5. from gin, n.
  6. Abbr. of geneva, or rather of the older form genever, *giniper, from Middle English gynypre, juniper: see geneva, juniper.
  7. Australian.
 

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/dʒɪn/
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