Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A disturbance of uric-acid metabolism occurring chiefly in males, characterized by painful inflammation of the joints, especially of the feet and hands, and arthritic attacks resulting from elevated levels of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urate crystals around the joints. The condition can become chronic and result in deformity.
  • noun A large blob or clot.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A drop; a clot; a coagulation.
  • noun In falconry, a spot on a hawk.
  • noun A disorder characterized by uricemia, by very painful acute or chronic inflammations in the joints, chiefly the smaller joints, and especially in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the great toe, and by the deposition of crystals of sodium urate in the inflamed joint-tissues, in nodules in the pinna of the ear, under the skin in the hands and feet, and elsewhere.
  • noun See the extract.
  • noun A drain.
  • noun A gateway bridge over a watercourse.
  • noun A sluice in embankments against the sea, for letting out the land-waters when the tide is out, and preventing the ingress of salt water. Also written go-out.
  • noun Taste; relish.

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

  • noun A drop; a clot or coagulation.
  • noun (Med.) A constitutional disease, occurring by paroxysms. It consists in an inflammation of the fibrous and ligamentous parts of the joints, and almost always attacks first the great toe, next the smaller joints, after which it may attack the greater articulations. It is attended with various sympathetic phenomena, particularly in the digestive organs. It may also attack internal organs, as the stomach, the intestines, etc. It is an inherited disease of purine metaboism, which causes an increased level of uric acid in the blood, and leads to deposition of crystals of sodium urate in cartilage within joints and in connective tissue. It can be alleviated by a diet low in purines, and is treated by drugs which block formation of uric acid.
  • noun A disease of cornstalks. See Corn fly, under Corn.
  • noun See Chalkstone, n., 2.

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

  • noun pathology, not countable An extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints.
  • noun A spurt or splotch.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a painful inflammation of the big toe and foot caused by defects in uric acid metabolism resulting in deposits of the acid and its salts in the blood and joints

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English goute, from Old French, drop, gout, from Medieval Latin gutta, from Latin, drop (from the belief that gout was caused by drops of morbid humors).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old French gote, gute, from Latin gutta ("drop")

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Examples

Comments

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  • Used as a verb by William Hope Hodgson: "the giant cuttle fish . . . slid back into the deep water, . . . gouting blood."

    April 18, 2011

  • Nice citation! What was the work?

    April 18, 2011

  • Yarb,

    It occurs as a verb in William Hope Hodgson's novel, The Boats of the "Glen Carrig".

    April 19, 2011

  • Garn, gout! 'n stayout!

    April 19, 2011

  • Thanks!

    April 19, 2011

  • "n. A sluice in embankments against the sea, for letting out the land-waters when the tide is out, and preventing the ingress of salt water. Also written go-out."

    --CD&C

    March 4, 2012