Gin

//d͡ʒɪn// conj, noun, verb

Definitions

Conjunction
  1. 1
    If. Appalachia, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern-US

    "[…]for pronouncing according as one would ſay at London I would eat more cheeſe if I had it, the Northern man ſaith, Ay ſuld eat mare cheeſe gin ay hadet, and the Weſterne man ſaith Chud eat more cheeſe an chad it."

Noun
  1. 1
    A colourless non-aged alcoholic liquor made by distilling fermented grains such as barley, corn, oats or rye with juniper berries; the base for many cocktails. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A trick; a device or instrument. obsolete
  3. 3
    An Aboriginal woman. Australia, ethnic, slur

    "His next shot was discharged amongst the mob, and most unfortunately wounded the gin already mentioned ; who, with a child fastened to her back, slid down the bank, and lay, apparently dying, with her legs in the water."

  4. 4
    An ethnic Vietnamese, in reference to those whose lands are in China.
  5. 5
    a form of rummy in which a player can go out if the cards remaining in their hand total less than 10 points wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    Gin rummy. uncountable
  2. 7
    A scheme; contrivance; artifice; a figurative trap or snare. obsolete

    "The church dores were sparred, Fast boltyd and barryd, Yet wyth a prety gyn I fortuned to come in, […]"

  3. 8
    a machine that separates the seeds from raw cotton fibers wordnet
  4. 9
    Drawing the best card or combination of cards. countable, uncountable

    "Johnny Chan held jack-nine, and hit gin when a queen-ten-eight board was dealt out."

  5. 10
    A snare or trap for game.

    "It was the cry of a rabbit caught in a gin."

  6. 11
    a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose wordnet
  7. 12
    A machine for raising or moving heavy objects, consisting of a tripod formed of poles united at the top, with a windlass, pulleys, ropes, etc.
  8. 13
    strong liquor flavored with juniper berries wordnet
  9. 14
    A hoisting drum, usually vertical; a whim.
  10. 15
    A pile driver.
  11. 16
    A windpump.
  12. 17
    A cotton gin.
  13. 18
    An instrument of torture worked with screws.
Verb
  1. 1
    To remove the seeds from cotton with a cotton gin. transitive
  2. 2
    To begin. Early, Modern, archaic

    "Gon. All three of them are deſperate : their great guilt / (Like poyſon giuen to worke a great time after) / Now gins to bite the ſpirits :[…]"

  3. 3
    trap with a snare wordnet
  4. 4
    To trap something in a gin. transitive
  5. 5
    separate the seeds from (cotton) with a cotton gin wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

Abbreviation of geneva, alteration of Dutch genever (“juniper”) from Old French genevre (modern French genièvre), from Vulgar Latin ziniperus, from Latin iūniperus (“juniper”). Hence gin rummy (first attested 1941).

Etymology 2

Partly from Middle English gin, ginne (“cleverness, scheme, talent, device, machine”), from Old French gin, an aphetism of Old French engin (“engine”); and partly from Middle English grin, grine (“snare, trick, stratagem, deceit, temptation, noose, halter, instrument”), from Old English grin, gryn, giren (“snare, gin, noose”).

Etymology 3

Partly from Middle English gin, ginne (“cleverness, scheme, talent, device, machine”), from Old French gin, an aphetism of Old French engin (“engine”); and partly from Middle English grin, grine (“snare, trick, stratagem, deceit, temptation, noose, halter, instrument”), from Old English grin, gryn, giren (“snare, gin, noose”).

Etymology 4

Inherited from Middle English ginnen (“to begin”), contraction of beginnen.

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Dharug dyin (“woman”), but having acquired a derogatory tone.

Etymology 6

Cognate to Scots gin (“if”): perhaps from gi(v)en, or a compound in which the first element is from Old English ġif (English if) and the second is cognate to English an (“if”) (compare iffen), or perhaps from again.

Etymology 7

A Hanyu Pinyin-esque romanization of Vietnamese Kinh (京).

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