Gesture

Definition: Gesture

Gesture

Noun

1. Motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling.

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

3. Something done as an indication of intention; "a political gesture" or "a gesture of defiance".

Verb

1. Show, express or direct through movement; "He gestured his desire to leave".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "gesture" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Synonyms: Gesture

Indication

Gesture, gesticulation; pantomime; wink, glance, leer; nod, shrug, beck; touch, nudge; dactylology, dactylonomy; freemasonry, telegraphy, chirology, byplay, dumb show; cue; hint; clue, clew, key, scent.

Information

Hint, suggestion, innuendo, inkling, whisper, passing word, word in the ear, subaudition, cue, byplay; gesture; (indication); gentle hint, broad hint; verbum sapienti; insinuation; (latency).

The Drama

Performance, representation, mise en scene, stagery, jeu de theatre; acting; gesture; impersonation; stage business, gag, buffoonery.

Crosswords: Gesture

You're too short for that gesture. (All About Eve; writing credit: Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

What is it about Earth people that makes them think a futile gesture is a noble one (Doctor Who; writing credit: Basil Caplan; Martin Defalco)

And I feel sure he will accept this gesture in the spirit of which it is offered (Duck Soup; writing credit: Bert Kalmar ; Harry Ruby)

Well, it's a nice gesture, but I don't appreciate looking like a teenage low-rider (Promised Land; writing credit: Frédéric D'Onfs; Olivier Langlois)

The vertigo and the constant hunger to be exposed, to be seen through, perhaps even wiped out. Every inflection and every gesture a lie, every smile a grimace (Persona; writing credit: Ingmar Bergman)

Sex without love is an empty gesture. But as empty gestures go, it is one of the best. (references; author: Woody Allen)

The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

A Gesture Fight in Hester Street (1900)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Mime: The Theory and Practice of Expressive Gesture, With a Description of Its Historical Development (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• The Shanghai Gesture (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Vital Gesture Christmas 1 (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Woman with outstretched gesture and other spirits over townscape. Credit: Library of Congress.

The Shanghai gesture!. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

He noticed her involuntary gesture, and smiled

Madame Magloire made an expressive gesture.

Stephen made a vague gesture of denial

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Encourage any type of communication, whether it is speech, gesture, pointing, or drawing. (references)

Reflexes are movements that the body makes automatically in response to a specific cue. For example, if a newborn baby is held on its back and tilted so the legs are above its head, the baby will automatically extend its arms in a gesture, called the Moro reflex, that looks like an embrace. (references)

Civil Liberties

Ukraine

In February the State Tax Administration, in a gesture of transparency, began publishing a monthly list of media outlets scheduled for audits, rather than conducting audits arbitrarily. (references)

Algeria

Broad provisions in the new law provide for prison terms of between 2 and 24 months and fines ranging from $129 (10,000 dinars) to $6,494 (500,000 dinars) for "any person who insults a judge, a civil servant, or one of the representatives of public order with a word, a gesture, a threat, a piece of correspondence, a piece of writing or a drawing while they are exercising their profession, and does so with the intention of offending their honor, their authority, or the respect required of their profession." The law, as amended, provides the same punishments for anyone who "commits insult, contempt or defamation" directed at "Parliament or one of its chambers, tribunals, courts of justice, the People's National Army, or any other authority of public order." No journalist had been charged under the new law by year's end; however, the Government brought defamation cases against journalists during the year under the old provisions of the Penal Code. (references)

Human Rights

Ghana

On August 9, the Government exhumed the bodies of three former heads of state and five senior military officers who were executed in July 1979; family members had requested private exhumation and proper reburial, and the Government granted the request as a humanitarian gesture. (references)

Political Economy

Western Sahara

A group of 185 POW's was repatriated to Morocco in a humanitarian airlift conducted under ICRC auspices in November 1995. In April 1997, Polisario leaders offered to release 85 Moroccan POW's as a good will gesture during U.N. envoy Baker's first meetings in Tindouf, but Morocco and the Polisario could not agree on the conditions of their release. (references)

Political Rights

Zambia

This act was largely a symbolic gesture, as the President retained sufficient support to block a two-thirds impeachment vote. (references)

Worker Rights

Fiji

The striking hotel workers were given a pay raise, but this raise was regarded as a gesture by the management. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "gesture": a gesture of goodwill ♦ facial gesture ♦ friendly gesture ♦ make a gesture ♦ studied gesture. Additional references.

Beginning with "gesture": gesture-based.

Ending with "gesture": by-gesture, eye-gesture, finger-gesture, non-gesture.

Albanian

gjest (face, motion, movement, sign), veprim për efekt, nojmë. (various references)

Arabic 

‏لوح (blackboard, flag, flourish, sheet, slab, tablet, wave), ‏ومأ (beckon, gesticulate, mime, nod, sign, signal), ‏إيماءة (nod, sign), ‏إيماء (gesticulation, mime), ‏إشارة (allusion, cue, denotation, forerunner, hint, index, indication, innuendo, mark, motion, pitch, prognostic, reference, sign, signal, tip off). (various references)

Bulgarian 

мимика, жест (motion). (various references)

Chinese 

手勢 (sign, signal), �"畫 (gesticulate), 姿态. (various references)

Czech

gesto (motion), gestikulovat (gesticulate), pohyb (exercise, locomotion, motion, move, movement, snap it up, stir, travel). (various references)

Danish

gestus, mimisk bevægelse (expressive movement), kropssprog (expressive movement), håndbevægelser, fagter. (various references)

Dutch

gesticuleren, gebaren (wave). (various references)

Esperanto

gesto, gesti. (various references)

Faeroese

keipa. (various references)

Farsi 

قیافه (Countenance, Expression, Leer, Look, Mien, Semblance, Sight), ژست (Pose), وضع (Aspect, Behavior, Deduction, Demeanour, Imposition, Lie, Mien, Ordonnance, Phase, Poise, Pose, Position, Posture, Self, Setup, Situation, Speed, Stance, Station, Status, Stick, Trim), حرکت (Behavior, Demeanour, Departure, Locomotion, Motion, Move, Movement, Poke, Progress, Stir, Stroke), اشاره (Allusion, Beck, Beckon, Ensign, Hint, Inkling, Innuendo, Manifest, Mention, Referral, Slur, Symbol), اشارات وحرکات درموقع سخن گفتن , ادا, رفتار (Behavior, Comport, Comportment, Conduct, Demarche, Demeanour, Ethic, Manner, Treatment). (various references)

Finnish

ele (expression). (various references)

French

geste. (various references)

Frisian

gebeart. (various references)

German

geste (gesticulation, pass), gebärde (gesticulation). (various references)

Greek 

χειρονομία (gesticulation), χειρονομώ (gesticulate). (various references)

Hebrew 

מחו�" (gesticulation, phrase), לאותת בי�"יו, ת� ועת �"בע�", �''סט�" (movement). (various references)

Hungarian

gesztus. (various references)

Indonesian

gerak isyarat, isyarat tangan (gesticulation), isyarat (cue, forerunner, hint, intimation). (various references)

Italian

gesto (act, action, deed, motion, movement, nod, sign, wave). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

身振り , 表意 , 所作 (conduct), 手真似 (hand signal, sign), 仕草 (acting, action, bearing, behavior, treatment), ジアゾニウ� 塩 (charades, diazonium salt, Jesuit, jet, jet coaster, jet engine, jet lag, jet set, jet stream, jetfoil, roller coaster). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

しぐさ (acting, action, bearing, behavior, gestures, treatment), しょさ (conduct), ひょうい (dependence, depending on), ジェスチャー , みぶり, てまね (hand signal, sign). (various references)

Korean 

� �스처. (various references)

Manx

cowrey (attribute, badge, beacon, brand, caret, character, check, denotation, emblem, evidence, feature, hint, indication, intimation, mark, marque, motion, sign, signal, stamp, symbol, symptom, token, trace, wealth), cowraghey (betoken, betray, betray exhibit, blotch, blotch of colour, characterization, characterize, denotation, denote, imply, log, mark, mark up, note, portend, represent, sign, signify, stamp, symbolize). (various references)

Norwegian

gestus, gestikulere. (various references)

Papiamen

gesto. (various references)

Pig Latin

esturegay.(various references)

Portuguese

gesto (action, beckon), aceno (beck, beckon, bob, mark, sign, signal, token, wave). (various references)

Romanian

gesticula (gesticulate, saw the air), gest (Beck, gest, gesticulation, motion, movement, office, wave), semn (auspice, badge, Beck, brand, character, denotation, dint, emblem, evidence, Favor, favour, impress, index, indication, Mark, note, office, portent, print, property, scar, score, scratch, seal, sign, signal, splash, spot, symbol, symptom, token, trace, track, vestige, wave), schimã (grimace), mişcare (activity, agitation, an up stroke, bustle, change, circulation, commotion, go, locomotion, motion, move, movement, revolt, riotousness, sign, stir, stroke, waggle, wave), faptã (achievement, act, action, deed, exploit, feat, philanthropy, proceeding, process, work), face gesturi, exprima prin gesturi (pantomime, register), acţiune (act, action, activity, agency, deed, feat, go, move, operation, proceeding, share, speculation, story, undertaking, work), însoţi de gesturi. (various references)

Russian 

жест (motion, movement). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

gest (motion). (various references)

Spanish

gesto (face, grimace, sign, visage). (various references)

Swedish

gest (gesticulation, motion), åtbörd. (various references)

Thai

แส�"งท่าทาง (gesticulate), การแส�"งท่าทาง (gesticulation). (various references)

Turkish

jest yapmak (gesticulate, make a gesture), jest (gesticulation, sign), iyi niyet gösterisi, işaret (augury, badge, character, chop, clew, clue, cue, device, distinguishing mark, earmark, ensign, foretoken, glimpse, graph, harbinger, hint, index, indication, indicator, landmark, logo, logotype, marker, note, pip, prognostic, prognostication, representation, sign, signal, signature, symbol, symptom, token, touch, trace), hareket (achievement, act, action, bearing, behavior, behaviour, conduct, demeanour, deportment, locomotion, motion, move, movement, play, setout, starting, step, stroke), el hareketleri ile konuşmak (gesticulate). (various references)

Ukrainian

вчинок (act, action, deed, proceeding, work), жестикулювати (gesticulate), жест (motion, movement). (various references)

Vietnamese 

h� nh động để tỏ thiện ý, cử chỉ (act, demeanour, motion), điệu bộ (affected, affectedly, attitude, mincing, theatrical), động tác h� nh động dễ gợi sự đáp lại. (various references)

Welsh

munud (minute, moment, nod, sign). (various references)

gestum, gestus, motabilem, motu, motum, motus, motuum. (various references)

gestura. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "gesture": gestured, gesturer, gesturers, gestures. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Gesture" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: estrue, Etsuro, gestare, gester, gestuer, gisburne, Gosute, Gunstrup, gustare, gusture, resuture, testure. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: egrets, greets, retuse.

-2 letters: egers, egest, egret, ester, geest, geste, grees, greet, grues, guest, reest, reges, reset, reuse, segue, serge, steer, stere, surge, terse, trees, trues, trugs, urges.

-3 letters: eger, ergs, erst, gees, gest, gets, gree, grue, gust, guts, rees, regs, rest, rete, rets, rues, rugs, ruse, rust, ruts, seer, sere, suer, suet.

+1 letter: gestured, gesturer, gestures, gumtrees.

+2 letters: budgeters, genitures, gesturers, grotesque, regulates, resurgent, ruggedest, suggester, theurgies.

+3 letters: augmenters, budgeteers, courgettes, curettages, entourages, expurgates, greenstuff, grotesques, gruesomest, guarantees, negritudes, otherguess, requesting, subterfuge, suggesters, superagent, thuggeries, trusteeing, turgencies, turgescent.

+4 letters: centrifuges, delustering, deregulates, greenstuffs, grotesquely, grotesquery, groundsheet, guttersnipe, legislature, marguerites, outgenerals, outsteering, persecuting, prestigeful, quarterages, rearguments, reregulates, slaughtered, slaughterer, subterfuges, suffragette, superagents, superegoist, terrigenous, travelogues, turgescence.