git
English
Alternative forms
- get
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ɡɪt/
Audio (RP) (file) Audio (GA) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪt
- Homophone: ghit (one pronunciation)
Etymology 1
From Middle English get (“[illegitimate] offspring”). A southern variant of Scots get (“illegitimate child, brat”), related to beget.[1]
Noun
git (plural gits)
- (Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory) A silly, incompetent, stupid, or annoying person (usually a man).
- 1968, John Lennon (lyrics), “I'm So Tired”, in The Beatles, performed by the Beatles:
- Although I'm so tired, I'll have another cigarette / And curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid git
- 1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1:
- Bit of a flash git, don't you think?
- 2007, Greg Weston, The Man Upstairs, →ISBN, page 124:
- Eventually God gives the donkey a voice and it says, "why're you beating me you great stupid git? It's the angel with the sword that you gotta be careful of," or words to that effect.
- 2000 December 18, BBC and Bafta Tribute to Michael Caine, 16:43–17:05:
- Parkinson: You made films before, but the part that really made your name was Zulu, wasn't it […] and there of course—against type—you played the toff, you played the officer.
- Caine: I played the officer, yeah, and everybody thought I was like that. Everyone was so shocked when they met me, this like Cockney guy had played this toffee-nosed git.
- 2020 December 16, Christian Wolmar, “Coverage of little-used stations does the railway no favours”, in Rail, page 45:
- I'm not being a miserable old git here. I like a laugh as much as anyone, [...].
-
Usage notes
- Git is usually used as an insult, more severe than twit but less severe than a true profanity like wanker or arsehole, and may often be used affectionately between friends. Get can also be used, with a subtle change of meaning. "You cheeky get!" is slightly less harsh than "You cheeky git!".
- Git is frequently used in conjunction with another word to achieve a more specific meaning. For instance a "smarmy git" refers to a person of a slimy, ingratiating disposition; a "jammy git" would be a person with undeserved luck. The phrase "grumpy old git", denoting a cantankerous old man, is used with particular frequency.
- In parts of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, get is still used in preference to git. In the Republic of Ireland, get, rather than git is used.
- The word has been ruled by the Speaker of the House of Commons to be unparliamentary language.[2][3]
Translations
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Verb
git (third-person singular simple present gitting, present participle got, simple past and past participle gotten)
- (Appalachia, Southern US, African-American Vernacular) To get, begone.
- (Appalachia, Southern US, African-American Vernacular) To get (leave; scram; begone).
Noun
git (plural gits)
- Alternative form of geat (channel in metal casting)
See also
- git gud
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “git”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- Geoffrey Hughes (2006) An encyclopedia of swearing, →ISBN, page 477
- M. Hunt, Alison Maloney (2006) Joy of Swearing, →ISBN
Anagrams
- GTi, IGT, TIG, tig
Dutch
Etymology
From French jet, or directly from Latin gagātēs after Ancient Greek Γαγάτης (Gagátēs), from Γάγας (Gágas, “a town and river in Lycia”).
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Noun
git n or f (plural gitten, diminutive gitje n)
- (neuter) lignite
- (neuter) jet (black, gemstone-like geological material)
- (masculine) a stone made of this material
Derived terms
- gitzwart (jet-black, the blackest black)
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʒi/
Verb
git
- post-1990 spelling of gît (third-person singular present indicative of gésir)
Latin
Etymology
Compare Hebrew גַּד (gad)(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
git n (indeclinable)
- A plant (Nigella sativa), variously named black cumin, Roman coriander, or melanthion.
References
- “git”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- git in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- my mind forebodes misfortune: animus praesāgit malum
- my mind forebodes misfortune: animus praesāgit malum
Old English
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *jit, with the *i leveled in from *wit. Further from Proto-Germanic *jut. Cognate with North Frisian jat.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jit/
Pronoun
ġit
- (the second-person dual nominative) you
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 20:22
- Þā andswarode him sē Hǣlend: "Ġit nyton hwæs ġit biddaþ."
- Then Jesus answered them: "You two don't know what you're asking for."
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 20:22
Declension
nominative | accusative | dative | genitive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | first person | iċ | mec, mē | mē | mīn | |
second person | þū | þec, þē | þē | þīn | ||
third person | masculine | hē | hine | him | his | |
feminine | hēo | hīe | hiere | hiere | ||
neuter | hit | hit | him | his | ||
dual | first person | wit | uncit | unc | uncer | |
second person | ġit | incit | inc | incer | ||
plural | first person | wē | ūsic | ūs | ūser, ūre | |
second person | ġē | ēowic | ēow | ēower | ||
third person | hīe | hīe | him | heora |
Descendants
- Middle English: ȝit, ȝitt, ȝet
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jiːt/
Adverb
ġīt
- Alternative form of ġīet
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *jit, from Proto-Germanic *jut, remodeled in Proto-Northwest Germanic to *jit by analogy with *wit.
Pronoun
git
- You two; nominative dual of thū
Declension
Personal pronouns | |||||
Singular | 1. | 2. | 3. m | 3. f | 3. n |
Nominative | ik | thū | hē | siu | it |
Accusative | mī, me, mik | thī, thik | ina | sia | |
Dative | mī | thī | imu | iru | it |
Genitive | mīn | thīn | is | ira | is |
Dual | 1. | 2. | - | - | - |
Nominative | wit | git | - | - | - |
Accusative | unk | ink | - | - | - |
Dative | |||||
Genitive | unkero | inker, inka | - | - | - |
Plural | 1. | 2. | 3. m | 3. f | 3. n |
Nominative | wī, we | gī, ge | sia | sia | siu |
Accusative | ūs, unsik | eu, iu, iuu | |||
Dative | ūs | im | |||
Genitive | ūser | euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera | iro |
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from Yiddish גוט (gut), from Old High German guot, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡit/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -it
- Syllabification: git
Adjective
git (not comparable)
- (colloquial) just right
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dobry
Adverb
git (not comparable)
- (colloquial) there you go
- Synonyms: fajnie, gitara, gites
Interjection
git
- (colloquial) excellent!
Noun
git m pers
- (prison slang) member of a prison subculture that occupies the highest position in the internal hierarchy
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | git | gici |
genitive | gita | gitów |
dative | gitowi | gitom |
accusative | gita | gitów |
instrumental | gitem | gitami |
locative | gicie | gitach |
vocative | gicie | gici |
Derived terms
- gites
- gitny
- gitowy
- git-człowiek
- gitowiec
Related terms
- gitesowy
- gitesowo
- gitnie
- gitowo
Further reading
- git in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- git in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Rohingya
Noun
git
- song
Turkish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡit/
- Hyphenation: git
Verb
git
- second-person singular imperative of gitmek
Vilamovian
Noun
git f
- goodness
Volapük
Noun
git (nominative plural gits)
- law (body of binding rules and regulations, customs and standards)
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | git | gits |
genitive | gita | gitas |
dative | gite | gites |
accusative | giti | gitis |
vocative 1 | o git! | o gits! |
predicative 2 | gitu | gitus |
- 1 status as a case is disputed
- 2 in later, non-classical Volapük only
Derived terms
- gitav (“jurisprudence”)
- gitavan (“jurist”)
- gitavik (“juristic”)
- gitäd (“judiciary”)
- gität (“right”)
- gitätön (“have the right”)
- gitik (“juridicial”)
- gitod (“justification”)
- gitöf (“legitimacy”)
- gitöfik (“legitimate”)