git

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See also: GIT, Git, and gît

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English get ( offspring). A southern variant of Scots get (illegitimate child, brat), related to beget.

Noun

git (plural gits)

  1. (Britain, 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.
Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

git (third-person singular simple present gitting, present participle got, simple past and past participle gotten)

  1. (Appalachia, Southern US, African-American Vernacular) To get, begone.
  2. (Appalachia, Southern US, African-American Vernacular) To get (leave; scram; begone).
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Noun

git (plural gits)

  1. Alternative form of geat (channel in metal casting)

Etymology 4

Likely chosen for its shortness and pronounceability, but various other explanations and backronyms were offered after its introduction.

Proper noun

git

  1. (computing) Alternative letter-case form of Git, a distributed VCS.

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “git”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ Geoffrey Hughes (2006) An encyclopedia of swearing, →ISBN, page 477
  3. ^ M. Hunt, Alison Maloney (2006) Joy of Swearing, →ISBN

Anagrams

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

Noun

git n or f (plural gitten, diminutive gitje n)

  1. (neuter) lignite
  2. (neuter) jet (black, gemstone-like geological material)
  3. (masculine) a stone made of this material

Derived terms

French

Pronunciation

Verb

git

  1. post-1990 spelling of gît (third-person singular present indicative of gésir)

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)

  1. 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

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

Pronoun

ġit

  1. (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."
Declension


Descendants
  • Middle English: ȝit, ȝitt, ȝet

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Adverb

ġīt

  1. Alternative form of ġīet

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *jit, from Proto-Germanic *jut, remodeled in Proto-Northwest Germanic to *jit by analogy with *wit.

Pronoun

git

  1. You two; nominative dual of thū

Declension

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish גוט (gut). Doublet of godzić.

Pronunciation

Adjective

git (not comparable, no derived adverb)

  1. (colloquial) just right
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dobry

Adverb

git (not comparable)

  1. (colloquial) there you go
    Synonyms: fajnie, gitara, gites

Interjection

git

  1. (colloquial) excellent!

Noun

git m pers

  1. (prison slang) member of a prison subculture that occupies the highest position in the internal hierarchy

Declension

Derived terms

adjectives
nouns

Related terms

adjectives
adverbs

Further reading

  • git in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • git in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Rohingya

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

git

  1. song

Turkish

Pronunciation

Verb

git

  1. second-person singular imperative of gitmek

Vilamovian

Noun

git f

  1. goodness

Volapük

Noun

git (nominative plural gits)

  1. law (body of binding rules and regulations, customs and standards)

Declension

Derived terms