git
English
Alternative forms
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)
- (British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory) A silly, incompetent, stupid, or annoying person (usually a man).
- 1968, “I'm So Tired”, in John Lennon (lyrics), 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 (leave; scram; begone).
Etymology 4
Likely chosen for its shortness and pronounceability, but various other explanations and backronyms were offered after its introduction.
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “git”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- Geoffrey Hughes (2006) An encyclopedia of swearing, →ISBN, page 477
- M. Hunt, Alison Maloney (2006) Joy of Swearing, →ISBN
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
Derived terms
- gitzwart (jet-black, the blackest black)
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʒi/
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 two
- 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 | neuter | hit | him | his | ||
masculine | hē | hine | ||||
feminine | hēo | hīe | hiere | |||
dual | first person | wit | unc, uncit | unc | uncer | |
second person | ġit | inc, incit | inc | incer | ||
plural | first person | wē | ūs, ūsic | ūs | ūser, ūre | |
second person | ġē | ēow, ēowic | ēow | ēower | ||
third person | hīe | him | heora |
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jiːt/
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *jit, from Proto-Germanic *jut, remodeled in Proto-Northwest Germanic to *jit by analogy with *wit.
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, unka | - | - | - | |
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
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡit/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -it
- Syllabification: git
- Homophone: gid
Adjective
git (not comparable, no derived adverb)
- (colloquial) just right
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dobry
Noun
git m pers
- (prison slang) member of a prison subculture that occupies the highest position in the internal hierarchy
Declension
Related terms
- gitesowy
- gitesowo
- gitnie
- gitowo
Rohingya
Turkish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡit/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: git
Vilamovian
Volapük
Noun
git (nominative plural gits)
- law (body of binding rules and regulations, customs and standards)