Category:Gift

Gift, n. Etym: [OE. gift, yift, yeft, AS. gift, fr. gifan to give; akin to D. & G. gift, Icel. gift, gipt, Goth. gifts (in comp.). See Give, v. t.]

1. Anything given; anything voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation; a present; an offering. Shall I receive by gift, what of my own,. . . I can command Milton.

2. The act, right, or power of giving or bestowing; as, the office is in the gift of the President.

3. A bribe; anything given to corrupt. Neither take a gift, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise. Deuteronomy 16:19.

4. Some quality or endowment given to man by God; a preëminent and special talent or aptitude; power; faculty; as, the gift of wit; a gift for speaking.

5. (Law)

Defn: A voluntary transfer of real or personal property, without any consideration. It can be perfected only by deed, or in case of personal property, by an actual delivery of possession. Bouvier. Burrill.

Gift rope (Naut), a rope extended to a boat for towing it; a guest rope.

Syn. -- Present; donation; grant; largess; benefaction; boon; bounty; gratuity; endowment; talent; faculty. -- Gift, Present; donation. These words, as here compared, denote something gratuitously imparted to another out of one's property. A gift is something given whether by a superior or an inferior, and is usually designed for the relief or benefit of him who receives it. A Present is ordinarily from an equal or inferior, and is always intended as a compliment or expression of kindness. Donation is a word of more dignity, denoting, properly, a gift of considerable value, and ordinarily a gift made either to some public institution, or to an individual on account of his services to the public; as, a donation to a hospital, a charitable society, or a minister.

gift Gift, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gifted; p. pr. & vb. n. Gifting.]

Defn: To endow with some power or faculty. He was gifted. . . with philosophical sagacity. I. Taylor.

--- ---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Category:Gift - (1.) An gratuity (Proverbs 19:6) to secure favor (Proverbs 18:16; Proverbs 21:14), a thank-offering (Numbers 18:11), or a dowry (Genesis 34:12). (2.) An oblation or propitiatory gift Deuteronomy 26:8; Psalms 45:12; Psalms 72:10). (3.) A bribe to a judge to obtain a favorable verdict (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19).  (4.) Simply a thing given (Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 4:8); sacrificial (Matthew 5:23, Matthew 5:24; Matthew 8:4); eleemosynary (Luke 21:1); a gratuity (John 4:10; Acts 8:20). In Acts 2:38 the generic word dorea is rendered "gift." It differs from the charisma (1 Corinthians 12:4) as denoting not miraculous powers but the working of a new spirit in men, and that spirit from God. The giving of presents entered largely into the affairs of common life in the East. The nature of the presents was as various as were the occasions: food (1 Samuel 9:7; 1 Samuel 16:20), sheep and cattle (Genesis 32:13), gold (2 Samuel 18:11), jewels (Genesis 24:53), furniture, and vessels for eating and drinking (2 Samuel 17:28); delicacies, as spices, honey, etc. (1 Kings 10:25; 2 Kings 5:22). The mode of presentation was with as much parade as possible: the presents were conveyed by the hands of servants (Judges 3:18), or still better, on the backs of beasts of burden (2 Kings 8:9). The refusal of a present was regarded as a high indignity; and this constituted the aggravated insult noticed in Matthew 22:11, the marriage robe having been offered and refused.