from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Give \Give\ (g[i^]v), v. t. [imp. {Gave} (g[=a]v); p. p. {Given}
(g[i^]v"'n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Giving}.] [OE. given, yiven,
yeven, AS. gifan, giefan; akin to D. geven, OS. ge[eth]an,
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.
[1913 Webster]
For generous lords had rather give than pay.
--Young.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?
--Matt. xvi.
26.
[1913 Webster]
3. To yield; to furnish; to produce; to emit; as, flint and
steel give sparks.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
5. To grant power or license to; to permit; to allow; to
license; to commission.
[1913 Webster]
It is given me once again to behold my friend.
--Rowe.
[1913 Webster]
Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.
--Pope.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
9. To allow or admit by way of supposition.
[1913 Webster]
I give not heaven for lost. --Mlton.
[1913 Webster]
10. To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
[1913 Webster]
I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a
lover. --Sheridan.
[1913 Webster]
11. To excite or cause to exist, as a sensation; as, to give
offense; to give pleasure or pain.
[1913 Webster]
12. To pledge; as, to give one's word.
[1913 Webster]
13. To cause; to make; -- with the infinitive; as, to give
one to understand, to know, etc.
[1913 Webster]
But there the duke was given to understand
That in a gondola were seen together
Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
14. To afford a view of; as, his window gave the park.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{To give away}, to make over to another; to transfer.
[1913 Webster]
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.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
One that gives out himself Prince Florizel.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
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).
[1913 Webster]
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."
[1913 Webster]
He has . . . given up
For certain drops of salt, your city Rome.
--Shak.
(b) To make public; to reveal.
[1913 Webster]
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}.
Usage: 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.
[1913 Webster]