What does Gesture mean?

Definitions for Gesture
ˈdʒɛs tʃərges·ture

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Gesture.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. gesturenoun

    motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling

  2. gesture, motionnoun

    the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals

  3. gestureverb

    something done as an indication of intention

    "a political gesture"; "a gesture of defiance"

  4. gesticulate, gesture, motionverb

    show, express or direct through movement

    "He gestured his desire to leave"

Wiktionary

  1. gesturenoun

    A motion of the limbs or body, especially one made to emphasize speech.

  2. gesturenoun

    An act or a remark made as a formality or as a sign of attitude.

    We took flowers as a gesture of sympathy.

  3. gestureverb

    To make a gesture or gestures.

    My dad said to never gesture with my hands when I talk.

  4. gestureverb

    To express something by a gesture or gestures.

    Never gesture at someone with a middle finger.

  5. Etymology: From gestura, from gerere, past participle gestus.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Gesturenoun

    Etymology: gero, gestum, Latin; geste, French.

    Ah, my sister, if you had heard his words, or seen his gestures, when he made me know what and to whom his love was, you would have matched in yourself, those two rarely matched together, pity and delight. Philip Sidney, b. ii.

    When we make profession of our faith, we stand; when we acknowledge our sins, or seek unto God for favour, we fall down; because the gesture of constancy becometh us best in the one, in the other the behaviour of humility. Richard Hooker.

    To the dumbness of the gesture
    One might interpret. William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens.

    Grace was in all her steps, heav’n in her eye,
    In ev’ry gesture dignity and love! John Milton, Paradise Lost.

    Every one will agree in this, that we ought either to lay aside all kinds of gesture, or at least to make use of such only as are graceful and expressive. Joseph Addison, Spectator, №. 408.

  2. To Gestureverb

    To accompany with action or posture.

    Etymology: from the noun.

    Our attire disgraceth it; it is not orderly read, nor gestured as beseemeth. Richard Hooker, b. v.

    Undertaking so to gesture and muffle up himself in his hood, as the duke’s manner was, that none should discern him. Henry Wotton, Life of the Duke of Buckingham.

Wikipedia

  1. Gesture

    A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body. Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention. Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to words when they speak. Gesticulation and speech work independently of each other, but join to provide emphasis and meaning. Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, which are used by speech and sign language. In fact, language is thought by some scholars to have evolved in Homo sapiens from an earlier system consisting of manual gestures. The theory that language evolved from manual gestures, termed Gestural Theory, dates back to the work of 18th-century philosopher and priest Abbé de Condillac, and has been revived by contemporary anthropologist Gordon W. Hewes, in 1973, as part of a discussion on the origin of language.

ChatGPT

  1. gesture

    A gesture is a movement or position of the hands, body, or face that is expressive, symbolic, or used to communicate a particular message, idea, or emotion. Gesture can also refer to an action performed to convey one's feelings or intentions.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Gesturenoun

    manner of carrying the body; position of the body or limbs; posture

  2. Gesturenoun

    a motion of the body or limbs expressive of sentiment or passion; any action or posture intended to express an idea or a passion, or to enforce or emphasize an argument, assertion, or opinion

  3. Gestureverb

    to accompany or illustrate with gesture or action; to gesticulate

  4. Gestureverb

    to make gestures; to gesticulate

  5. Etymology: [LL. gestura mode of action, fr. L. gerere, gestum, to bear, behave, perform, act. See Gest a deed.]

Wikidata

  1. Gesture

    A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body. Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention. Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to words when they speak. Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, which are used by speech and sign language.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Gesture

    jes′tūr, n. a posture, or movement of the body: an action expressive of sentiment or passion: (Shak.) behaviour.—adj. Ges′tural. [Low L. gestura—L. gestus, from L. gerĕre, to carry.]

Editors Contribution

  1. gesture

    A form of communication or action.

    As a gesture of goodwill to all its customers the mobile telephone providers gave all customers unlimited data plans.


    Submitted by MaryC on April 18, 2020  

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Gesture' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4401

  2. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Gesture' in Nouns Frequency: #1501

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce Gesture?

How to say Gesture in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Gesture in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Gesture in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of Gesture in a Sentence

  1. Andrzej Duda:

    I am sorry that Mr. President Lech Walesa was not able at the right time to bring himself to make a gesture to Poles ... Just speak out and tell the truth.

  2. Andrew Ansbro:

    Last year, Mayor de Blasio called for federal funding for hazard pay bonuses, the federal government delivered that funding as part of the American Rescue Act, but to date the Mayor has failed to fulfill this promise. Rather than a parade, a more appropriate gesture would be to make good on this promise.

  3. Jose Daniel Ferrer:

    It's a support gesture, it's a solidarity gesture for the struggle that we are taking forward, in Cuba we have to tear down many walls so that the Cuban people can live with dignity, with rights, and so that they can prosper.

  4. President Donald Trump:

    It was a very nice gesture on behalf of President Vladimir Putin and I could have said' no, thank you' or I could have said' thank you.' And it was a large plane of very high-quality medical supplies. And I said,' I'll take it,'.

  5. Principal Mitch Cummings:

    Military veterans called and said how much pride they had and how they felt appreciated by that simple gesture.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Gesture#10000#16533#100000

Translations for Gesture

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"Gesture." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Gesture>.

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    a deliberately offensive act or something producing the effect of deliberate disrespect
    A efface
    B cleave
    C affront
    D elaborate

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