Etymology Unknown (14th century). Perhaps abbreviated from Gilbert, the name of the cat in the medieval fables of Reynard the Fox, Romaunt of the Rose, and so on.
1
A castrated male cat or ferret.
2
A male cat; a tomcat.
3
A hooked prolongation on the lower jaw of a male salmon or trout.
A strip, wedge, or bolt made from metal or wood and used for holding a machine part in place; usually with features (such as a taper and/or set screws) that allow for fine adjustment of the part's position.
‘Neuf à la banque,’ quietly said the croupier. With his spatula he faced the Greek's two cards, ‘Et le sept,’ he said unemotionally, lifting up gently the corpses of the seven and queen and slipping them through the wide slot in the table near his chair which leads into the gib metal canister to which all dead cards are consigned.1953, Ian Fleming, “The High Table”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 75:
gib
verb
Etymology Shortened from giblet.
1
Video games To destroy an in-game object so that it turns into gibs.
Johnny Turbo has a chainsaw leg he can use to slide around and gib enemies […]2023 August 10, Austin Suther, “Turbo Overkill Review - Become Chainsaw Man”, in TechRaptor:
Weapons like the Devastator and other explosives make enemies gib into a bloody gore, while the auto shotgun can easily mow down hordes of, well, anything.2020 September 24, Antal Bokor, “Review: Over the Top Serious Sam 4 Is More of What you Want”, in Third Coast Review:
The object is to get the most frags(with some extra enjoyment for quality frags/gibs) […]1996 July 25, Jace Dinehart, “Player review, thread jump, reg. Ver bugs.”, in rec.games.computer.quake.misc (Usenet):
gib
verb
NZ /dʒɘb/
Etymology From the trademark GIB, registered by Fletcher Building Holdings Limited, the major brand of plasterboard in New Zealand.
As the wallpaper stripping progresses the damage to walls becomes more apparent. It may require more variation orders for gibbing of walls as well as ceilings.2014 October 4, Chris Hutching, “An earthquake repair story from the south”, in NBR:
gib
noun
Etymology From the trademark GIB, registered by Fletcher Building Holdings Limited, the major brand of plasterboard in New Zealand.
Only gib me some few shingles an’ a flo’, an’ dar yer hev jes ez good a church ez de ’postles ebber hed ter preach in.1880, Albion W. Tourgee, “Red Wing”, in Bricks Without Straw, New York, N.Y.: Fords, Howard, & Hulbert; London: Sampson Low & Co.; Montreal, Que.: Dawson Bros., page 87:
I has gib you licker an’ I has gib you music, an’ wife, dar, is cookin’ supper fur you, an’ it ain’ no mo’ den reason dat I’d wanter know whut we gwine git fur it.[…]“Yo’ supper is done an’ ef you’ll jest gib me room I’ll fix de table,” the woman remarked, taking the bread off the griddle.1896, Opie Read, chapter VIII, in The Jucklins, Chicago, Ill.: Laird & Lee, pages 105 and 107:
4 more examples
De kindest heartedest little boy in de worl’ would forget to gib his cat its dinner if he had a new toy to play wid, or a new suit o’ party dress to put on to show his poppy when he come home.1902, John Kendrick Bangs, Bikey the Skicycle & Other Tales of Jimmieboy, New York, N.Y.: Riggs Publishing Company, page 181:
Please, Mars’ Gineral, do gib me dime fer snack.1938, Hervey Allen, Action at Aquila, New York, N.Y.: Farrar & Rinehart, page 98:
Don’t your mommy gib you bacoln?1988, Lynda Barry, The Good Times Are Killing Me, published 2020, →ISBN:
“My daddy doesn’t gib me guns, ’cause he doesn’t like dem. But Pop will gib me one when I gets ten.”2002 July, Patricia Sprinkle, Who Invited the Dead Man?, Signet, →ISBN: