git

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See also: GIT, Git, and gît

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English get ([illegitimate] offspring). A southern variant of Scots get (illegitimate child, brat), related to beget.[1]

Noun[edit]

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[edit]
  • 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[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

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[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Noun[edit]

git (plural gits)

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

Etymology 4[edit]

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

Proper noun[edit]

git

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

References[edit]

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

Anagrams[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French jet, or directly from Latin gagātēs after Ancient Greek Γαγάτης (Gagátēs), from Γάγας (Gágas, a town and river in Lycia).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

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[edit]

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

git

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

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Compare Hebrew גַּד (gad) (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun[edit]

git n (indeclinable)

  1. A plant (Nigella sativa), variously named black cumin, Roman coriander, or melanthion.

References[edit]

  • 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[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • my mind forebodes misfortune: animus praesāgit malum

Old English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *jit, with the *i leveled in from *wit. Further from Proto-Germanic *jut. Cognate with North Frisian jat.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

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[edit]


Descendants[edit]
  • Middle English: ȝit, ȝitt, ȝet

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

ġīt

  1. Alternative form of ġīet

Old Saxon[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronoun[edit]

git

  1. You two; nominative dual of thū

Declension[edit]

Polish[edit]

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

git (not comparable, no derived adverb)

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

Adverb[edit]

git (not comparable)

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

Interjection[edit]

git

  1. (colloquial) excellent!

Noun[edit]

git m pers

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

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

adjectives
nouns

Related terms[edit]

adjectives
adverbs

Further reading[edit]

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

Rohingya[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

git

  1. song

Turkish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

git

  1. second-person singular imperative of gitmek

Vilamovian[edit]

Noun[edit]

git f

  1. goodness

Volapük[edit]

Noun[edit]

git (nominative plural gits)

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

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]