Give (giv), v. t. [imp. Gave (gAv); p. p. Given (giv"'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Giving.] [OE. given, yiven, yeven, AS. gifan, giefan; akin to D. geven, OS. geðan, OHG. geban, G. geben, Icel. gefa, Sw. gifva, Dan. give, Goth. giban. Cf. Gift, n.]

1.

To bestow without receiving a return; to confer without compensation; to impart, as a possession; to grant, as authority or permission; to yield up or allow.

For generous lords had rather give than pay.
Young.

2.

To yield possesion of; to deliver over, as property, in exchange for something; to pay; as, we give the value of what we buy.

What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?
Matt. xvi. 26.

3.

To yield; to furnish; to produce; to emit; as, flint and steel give sparks.

4.

To communicate or announce, as advice, tidings, etc.; to pronounce; to render or utter, as an opinion, a judgment, a sentence, a shout, etc.

5.

To grant power or license to; to permit; to allow; to license; to commission.

It is given me once again to behold my friend.
Rowe.

Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.
Pope.

6.

To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to show; as, the number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.

7.

To devote; to apply; used reflexively, to devote or apply one's self; as, the soldiers give themselves to plunder; also in this sense used very frequently in the past participle; as, the people are given to luxury and pleasure; the youth is given to study.

8. (Logic & Math.)

To set forth as a known quantity or a known relation, or as a premise from which to reason; -- used principally in the passive form given.

9.

To allow or admit by way of supposition.

I give not heaven for lost.
Mlton.

10.

To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.

I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover.
Sheridan.

11.

To excite or cause to exist, as a sensation; as, to give offense; to give pleasure or pain.

12.

To pledge; as, to give one's word.

13.

To cause; to make; -- with the infinitive; as, to give one to understand, to know, etc.

But there the duke was given to understand
That in a gondola were seen together
Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.
Shak.

To give away, to make over to another; to transfer.

Whatsoever we employ in charitable uses during our lives, is given away from ourselves.
Atterbury.

--
To give back, to return; to restore. Atterbury. --
To give the bag, to cheat. [Obs.]

I fear our ears have given us the bag.
J. Webster.

--
To give birth to.
(a) To bear or bring forth, as a child.
(b) To originate; to give existence to, as an enterprise, idea. --
To give chase, to pursue. --
To give ear to. See under Ear. --
To give forth, to give out; to publish; to tell. Hayward. --
To give ground. See under Ground, n. --
To give the hand, to pledge friendship or faith. --
To give the hand of, to espouse; to bestow in marriage. --
To give the head. See under Head, n. --
To give in.
(a) To abate; to deduct.
(b) To declare; to make known; to announce; to tender; as, to give in one's adhesion to a party. --
To give the lie to (a person), to tell (him) that he lies. --
To give line. See under Line. --
To give off, to emit, as steam, vapor, odor, etc. --
To give one's self away, to make an inconsiderate surrender of one's cause, an unintentional disclosure of one's purposes, or the like. [Colloq.] --
To give out.
(a) To utter publicly; to report; to announce or declare.

One that gives out himself Prince Florizel.
Shak.

Give out you are of Epidamnum.
Shak.

(b) To send out; to emit; to distribute; as, a substance gives out steam or odors. --
To give over.
(a) To yield completely; to quit; to abandon.
(b) To despair of.
(c) To addict, resign, or apply (one's self).

The Babylonians had given themselves over to all manner of vice.
Grew.

--
To give place, to withdraw; to yield one's claim. --
To give points.
(a) In games of skill, to equalize chances by conceding a certain advantage; to allow a handicap.
(b) To give useful suggestions. [Colloq.] --
To give rein. See under Rein, n. --
To give the sack. Same as To give the bag. --
To give and take.
(a) To average gains and losses.
(b) To exchange freely, as blows, sarcasms, etc. --
To give time (Law), to accord extension or forbearance to a debtor. Abbott. --
To give the time of day, to salute one with the compliment appropriate to the hour, as "good morning." "good evening", etc. --
To give tongue, in hunter's phrase, to bark; -- said of dogs. --
To give up.
(a) To abandon; to surrender. "Don't give up the ship."

He has . . . given up
For certain drops of salt, your city Rome.
Shak.

(b) To make public; to reveal.

I'll not state them
By giving up their characters.
Beau. & Fl.

(c) (Used also reflexively.) --
To give up the ghost. See under Ghost. --
To give one's self up, to abandon hope; to despair; to surrender one's self. --
To give way.
(a) To withdraw; to give place.
(b) To yield to force or pressure; as, the scaffolding gave way.
(c) (Naut.) To begin to row; or to row with increased energy.
(d) (Stock Exchange). To depreciate or decline in value; as, railroad securities gave way two per cent. --
To give way together, to row in time; to keep stroke.

Syn. -- To Give, Confer, Grant. To give is the generic word, embracing all the rest. To confer was originally used of persons in power, who gave permanent grants or privileges; as, to confer the order of knighthood; and hence it still denotes the giving of something which might have been withheld; as, to confer a favor. To grant is to give in answer to a petition or request, or to one who is in some way dependent or inferior.

 

© Webster 1913


Give (?), v. i.

1.

To give a gift or gifts.

2.

To yield to force or pressure; to relax; to become less rigid; as, the earth gives under the feet.

3.

To become soft or moist. [Obs.] Bacon .

4.

To move; to recede.

Now back he gives, then rushes on amain.
Daniel.

5.

To shed tears; to weep. [Obs.]

Whose eyes do never give
But through lust and laughter.
Shak.

6.

To have a misgiving. [Obs.]

My mind gives ye're reserved
To rob poor market women.
J. Webster.

7.

To open; to lead. [A Gallicism]

This, yielding, gave into a grassy walk.
Tennyson.

To give back, to recede; to retire; to retreat.

They gave back and came no farther.
Bunyan.

--
To give in, to yield; to succumb; to acknowledge one's self beaten; to cease opposition.

The Scots battalion was enforced to give in.
Hayward.

This consideration may induce a translator to give in to those general phrases.
Pope.

--
To give off, to cease; to forbear. [Obs.] Locke. --
To give on or upon.
(a) To rush; to fall upon. [Obs.]

(b) To have a view of; to be in sight of; to overlook; to look toward; to open upon; to front; to face. [A Gallicism: cf. Fr. donner sur.]

Rooms which gave upon a pillared porch.
Tennyson.

The gloomy staircase on which the grating gave.
Dickens.

--
To give out.
(a) To expend all one's strength. Hence:

(b) To cease from exertion; to fail; to be exhausted; as, my feet being to give out; the flour has given out. --
To give over, to cease; to discontinue; to desist.

It would be well for all authors, if they knew when to give over, and to desist from any further pursuits after fame.
Addison.

--
To give up, to cease from effort; to yield; to despair; as, he would never give up.

 

© Webster 1913


Give (?), v. t.

To afford a view of; as, his window gave the park.

 

© Webster 1913

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