gist
noun/dʒɪst/
/dʒɪst/
(usually the gist [singular])
- gist (of something) the main or general meaning of a piece of writing, a speech or a conversation
- to get (= understand) the gist of an argument
- I missed the beginning of the lecture—can you give me the gist of what he said?
- I'm afraid I don't quite follow your gist (= what you really mean).
- Students are taught the skills of reading and listening for gist.
- It is difficult to convey the gist of Reich's ideas simply.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- general
- convey
- give (somebody)
- catch
- …
- gist of
Word Originearly 18th cent.: from Old French, third person singular present tense of gesir ‘to lie’, from Latin jacere. The Anglo-French legal phrase cest action gist ‘this action lies’ denoted that there were sufficient grounds to proceed; gist was adopted into English denoting the grounds themselves.
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gist