gast

See also: Gast and gäst

English

Etymology

From Middle English gasten, from Old English gǣstan, from Proto-Germanic *gaistijaną. Also spelled ghast due to association with ghost.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡɑːst/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡæst/
• Rhymes: -ɑːst, -æst

Verb

gast (third-person singular simple present gasts, present participle gasting, simple past and past participle gasted)

1. (obsolete) To frighten.
   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     Or whether gasted by the noise I made, full suddenly he fled.

Anagrams

• ATGs, GATS, GTAs, TAGs, gats, stag, tags

Breton

Etymology

Cognate with Cornish gest, Welsh gast, and Middle Irish gast (a loanword from Brythonic).

Noun

gast f (plural gisti)

1. (vulgar, derogatory) whore, bitch

Inflection

  Mutation of gast  

Breton consonant mutation
	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
singular	gast	c'hast	unchanged	kast
plural	gisti	c'histi	unchanged	kisti

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Frisian gāst, from Proto-West Germanic *gaist. Doublet of gejst.

Noun

gast

1. (obsolete) ghost, revenant

   Synonyms: spøgelse, genganger, genfærd, gespenst

Etymology 2

From German Gast (“guest”), from Proto-West Germanic *gasti. Doublet of gæst.

Noun

gast c (singular definite gasten, plural indefinite gaster)

1. a (unspecialized) crewmember on a ship

   Synonyms: matros, sømand

Further reading

• “gast” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɑst/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: gast
• Rhymes: -ɑst

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch gast, from Old Dutch *gast, from Proto-West Germanic *gasti, from Proto-Germanic *gastiz.

Noun

gast m (plural gasten, diminutive gastje n)

1. guest

   Synonym: genodigde

   Antonyms: gastheer, gastvrouw

   Ik heb afgelopen week wat familie te gast gehad. ― Some family members stayed with me as guests last week.

2. (chiefly in combinations) knave, worker, apprentice, delivery boy

   Antonyms: meester, stagemeester

3. (colloquial) dude, guy

   Synonyms: gozer, vent

   Die gast is echt niet goed bij z'n hoofd. ― That guy really isn't right in the head.

   Zijn broer is best een aardige gast. ― His brother is quite a nice guy.

   Gast, waar heb je het nou helemaal over? ― Dude, what are you even on about?

Derived terms

• bakkersgast
• eregast
• gastenverblijf
• gastheer
• gasthuis
• gastorganisme
• gastrecht
• gastvriend
• gastvrij
• gastvrouw
• logeergast
• meestergast
• slaapgast
• slagersgast
• spuitgast
• vergasten

Descendants

• Negerhollands: gast

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

gast

1. inflection of gassen:
   1. second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. (archaic) plural imperative

Gothic

Romanization

gast

1. Romanization of 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐍄

Icelandic

Verb

gast

1. singular past indicative of getast

Middle English

Noun

gast

1. Alternative form of gost

Old English

Alternative forms

• gǣst, gaast

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gaist, from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑːst/

Noun

gāst m

1. spirit

   sē Hālga Gāst

   the Holy Spirit

   Iċ bēo mid þē on gāste.

   I'll be with you in spirit.

2. ghost
3. breath
4. demon

Declension

Declension of gāst (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	gāst	gāstas
accusative	gāst	gāstas
genitive	gāstes	gāsta
dative	gāste	gāstum

Derived terms

• gāstlīċ (“spiritual”)

Descendants

• Middle English: gost, gast, gaast, goost, goste
  • English: ghost
  • Scots: gaist, gast, ghaist
  • Yola: gaast

Old French

Alternative forms

• wast

Etymology

Based on Latin vastus (“uncultivated, unoccupied”)

Noun

gast oblique singular, m (oblique plural gaz or gatz, nominative singular gaz or gatz, nominative plural gast)

1. destruction

Adjective

gast m (oblique and nominative feminine singular gaste)

1. destroyed; ravaged; decimated

Descendants

• English: waste (from the variant wast)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (gast)
• gast on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

Old Frisian

Kēning Richard III and gāstar.

Alternative forms

• gēst

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gaist. Cognates include Old English gāst and Old Saxon gēst.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaːst/

Noun

gāst m

1. ghost, spirit

Descendants

• Saterland Frisian: Gäist, Jeest
• West Frisian: geast

References

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 28

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gasti, see also Old Norse gestr, Latin hostis (“enemy”).

Noun

gast m (plural gesti)

1. guest

Declension

Declension of gast (masculine i-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	gast	gesti
accusative	gast	gesti
genitive	gastes	gesto
dative	gaste	gestim, gesten
instrumental	gastu	—

Derived terms

• gasttuom

Descendants

• Middle High German: gast
  • Bavarian: Gåst
  • German: Gast
    • → Esperanto: gasto
  • Luxembourgish: Gaascht
  • Yiddish: גאַסט (gast)

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gasti, whence also Old English ġiest.

Noun

gast m

1. guest

Declension

Declension of gast (masculine i-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	gast	gest
accusative	gast	gest
genitive	gasties	gastiō
dative	gastie	gastium
instrumental	—	—

Descendants

• Middle Low German: gast
  • Westphalian:

    Ravensbergisch-Lippisch: Gast

    Sauerländisch: Gast

    Westmünsterländisch: Gast

  • Plautdietsch: Gaust
  • → Saterland Frisian: Gast
  • → West Frisian: gast

Swedish

Etymology 1

See gäst

Noun

gast c

1. A crew member on a ship
   • 1882, Carl Eneroth, Humoresker till lands och sjös, page 10:

     Gastarne på Gefion hade öfverraskat några makliga sköldpaddor, som tagit sig en stadigare tupplur hitanför Gibraltar, och de der tystlåtna gökarne skänktes bort af kaptenen hit och dit, så att slutligen blott en fans öfrig.

     The crew of the Gefion had surprised a few lazy turtles, who had taken a more substantial nap hither of Gibraltar, and those silent fellows were given away by the captain here and there, so that at last only one remained.

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish gaster, possibly borrowed from Old Frisian gāst, from Proto-West Germanic *gaist.

Noun

gast c

1. A ghost

   Synonym: vålnad

Usage notes

The more common word for ghost is spöke.

Declension

Declension of gast

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	gast	gasts
	definite	gasten	gastens
plural	indefinite	gastar	gastars
	definite	gastarna	gastarnas

Derived terms

• gastkramande

References

• gast in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• gast in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• gast in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• sagt, stag, tags

Welsh

Etymology

Cognate with Cornish gest, Breton gast, and Middle Irish gast (a loanword from Brythonic).

Noun

gast f (plural geist)

1. bitch, female dog

   Coordinate term: ci

2. (vulgar, derogatory, offensive) bitch
3. (vulgar, derogatory, offensive) whore

   Synonym: putain

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
gast	ast	ngast	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “gast”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies