gorge

See also: Gorge and gorgé

English
WOTD – 10 July 2019

Pronunciation
The gorge (front aspect of the neck; sense 1) of a woman
A postcard of an ice gorge (sense 4) on the Mississippi River, USA[n 1]
The concave moulding above this statue of Osiris in the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, Egypt, is a gorge (sense 5) or cavetto
The entrance or opening to this bastion, a type of outwork, which is part of the remains of Fort Tanjong Katong in Singapore, is called a gorge (sense 6)
Drawings of primeval fishing gorges (sense 7), two made of stone (above) and two of bronze[n 2]
Kuimen, the entrance to Qutang Gorge, the first of the Three Gorges (sense 8) on the Yangtze River in China[n 3]
This pulley wheel of the Sommerbergbahn, a funicular railway in Bad Wildbad, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, has three gorges (grooves) for cables (sense 9)

Etymology 1

From Middle English gorǧe (“esophagus, gullet; throat; bird's crop; food in a hawk's crop; food or drink that has been eaten”),[1] a borrowing from Old French gorge (“throat”) (modern French gorge (“throat; breast”)), from Vulgar Latin *gorga, *gurga,[2] from Latin gurges (“eddy, whirlpool; gulf; sea”),[3] possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour, swallow; to eat”). The English word is cognate with Italian gorga, gorgia (“gorge, ravine; (obsolete) throat”), Occitan gorga, gorja, Portuguese gorja (“gullet, throat; gorge”), Spanish gorja (“gullet, throat; gorge”).[2]

Noun

gorge (plural gorges)

  1. (archaic) The front aspect of the neck; the outside of the throat.
  2. (archaic, literary) The inside of the throat; the esophagus, the gullet; (falconry, specifically) the crop or gizzard of a hawk.
  3. Food that has been taken into the gullet or the stomach, particularly if it is regurgitated or vomited out.
  4. (US) A choking or filling of a channel or passage by an obstruction; the obstruction itself.
    an ice gorge in a river
  5. (architecture) A concave moulding; a cavetto.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Gwilt to this entry?)
  6. (architecture, fortification) The entrance to an outwork, such as a bastion.
    • 1745, “Half Moon”, in An Introduction to the Art of Fortification. […], London: Printed for and sold by John Brindley, […], OCLC 723389608, column 1:
      Half Moon. An Outwork conſiſting of two Faces, which makes an Angle Salient, the Gorge whereof bends in like a Bow, or Creſcent, and were formerly us'd to cover the Point of a Baſtion, which diſtinguiſhes them from Ravelins, always plac'd before the Curtin; […]
    • 1874, D[ennis] H[art] Mahan, “Modifications Proposed in the Bastioned System”, in J. B. Wheeler, editor, An Elementary Course of Permanent Fortification, for the Use of the Cadets of the U.S. Military Academy, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Son, […], OCLC 1049050331, paragraph 236, page 127:
      Ramps lead from the gorges of the bastions down to these outlets into the main ditch. […] To keep open the communication between the bastions, a gallery between their gorges is made along the curtain wall.
    • 2018 June, John R. Weaver II, “New York City”, in A Legacy in Brick and Stone: American Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, 1816–1867, 2nd edition, McLean, Va.: Redoubt Press, McGovern Publishing, →ISBN, page 164, column 1:
      Construction on this massive fort was never completed. […] Only the foundations and a few tiers of stone were completed on the two gorge walls and the gorge bastion. At this point, a significant modification in design was made. […] In this way, the gorge of the fort was closed at minimum expense.
  7. (fishing) A primitive device used instead of a hook to catch fish, consisting of an object that is easy to swallow but difficult to eject or loosen, such as a piece of bone or stone pointed at each end and attached in the middle to a line.
  8. (geography) A deep, narrow passage with steep, rocky sides, particularly one with a stream running through it; a ravine.
    Synonym: canyon
    • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 7, in Crime out of Mind, New York, N.Y.: I. Washburn, OCLC 1261361, OL 5915292W:
      Our part of the veranda did not hang over the gorge, but edged the meadow where half a dozen large and sleek horses had stopped grazing to join us.
  9. (mechanical engineering) The groove of a pulley.
Derived terms
Translations
inside of the throat — See also translations at gullet
concave moulding — see cavetto

Etymology 2

The verb is derived from Middle English gorǧen (“to eat greedily; to gorge”),[4] a borrowing from Old French gorger, gorgier (modern French gorger (“to eat greedily; to gorge”)), from gorge (“throat”); see further at etymology 1.[5]

The noun is derived from the verb.[6]

Verb

gorge (third-person singular simple present gorges, present participle gorging, simple past and past participle gorged)

  1. (intransitive, reflexive) To stuff the gorge or gullet with food; to eat greedily and in large quantities. [+ on (object)]
    They gorged themselves on chocolate and cake.
    • 1735, “ANGLING”, in The Sportsman’s Dictionary: Or, The Country Gentleman’s Companion, in All Rural Recreations: […], volume I, London: Printed for C. Hitch, […], and C. Davis, […]; and S. Austen, […], OCLC 642366102:
      [I]f the preceding night prove dark and cloudy, the ſucceeding day, will be no good day to angle in, unleſs it be for ſmall fiſh; for at ſuch time the larger prey abroad for the leſſer; who by inſtinct knowing the danger, hide themſelves till the morning; and having faſted all night, become then very hungry while the larger having gorged themſelves, lie abſconded all the day.
  2. (transitive) To swallow, especially with greediness, or in large mouthfuls or quantities.
    • 1875, “Fishing”, in Hunter’s & Trapper’s Complete Guide, a Manual of Instruction in the Art of Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing, with the Secrets of Making, Setting, and Baiting Traps, by an Old Hunter and Trapper. […], New York, N.Y.: Hurst & Co., publishers, […], OCLC 894203726, page 53:
      If you use live bait, be exceedingly careful in determining when the fish has gorged it. You should give him several minutes after he has seized it, for this purpose. On seeing the bait, a pickerel will generally run off with it, and will then stop to gorge it, but does not always do so. […] But if he has gorged the bait, he will soon start off a second time, and sometimes will stop and start off the third time. In these cases, you should never be in a hurry. when you are convinced that he has taken down the bait, draw a tight line, and strike for your fish.
  3. (transitive) To fill up to the throat; to glut, to satiate.
    Synonyms: sate, stuff
    • a. 1701, John Dryden, “[Translations from Boccace.] Sigismonda and Guiscardo.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume III, London: Printed for J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, OCLC 863244003, page 270:
      If in thy doting and decrepit age, / Thy ſoul, a ſtranger in thy youth to rage, / Begins in cruel deeds to take delight, / Gorge with my blood thy barb'rous appetite; […]
    • 1808, Joseph Addison, “Milton’s Style Imitated, in a Translation of a Story out of the Third Æneid”, in The Dramatick Works of Joseph Addison. With the Authour’s Poems, on Several Occasions, Boston, Mass.: Printed by Snelling and Simons, for J. W. Armstrong, […], OCLC 10360557, page 186:
      The giant, gorg'd with flesh, and wine, and blood, / Lay stretch'd at length and snoring in his den, / Belching raw gobbets from his maw, o'ercharged / With purple wine and curdled gore confus'd.
  4. (transitive) To fill up (an organ, a vein, etc.); to block up or obstruct; (US, specifically) of ice: to choke or fill a channel or passage, causing an obstruction.
    Synonym: engorge
Conjugation
Conjugation of gorge
infinitive (to) gorge
present tense past tense
1st person singular gorge gorged
2nd person singular gorge, gorgest*
3rd person singular gorges, gorgeth*
plural gorge
subjunctive gorge
imperative gorge —
participles gorging gorged
* Archaic or obsolete.
Derived terms
Translations
to fill up to the throat — See also translations at glut,‎ satiate
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

gorge (plural gorges)

  1. An act of gorging.
Translations

Etymology 3

Clipping of gorge(ous); originally British slang.

Adjective

gorge (comparative more gorge, superlative most gorge)

  1. (slang) Gorgeous.
    Oh, look at him: isn’t he gorge?
    • 2013, Brittany [Lyn] Geragotelis, chapter 1, in Life’s a Witch, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster BFYR, →ISBN, page 19:
      "Um, Hadley? Don't tell me that's another new outfit. It's totally gorge!” Sofia stopped me in the middle of the hallway to admire the clothes I'd meticulously picked out that morning.
    • 2014 May 5, “Katy Perry Reveals Her Prismatic World Tour Costumes Featuring Cavalli, Valentino, & MORE!”, in PerezHilton.com‎, archived from the original on 28 March 2019:
      While she's [Katy Perry's] been hard at work on her singing and choreography, designers have been hard at work coming up with the most gorge, glam, and fabulous costumes for her to wear on stage.
    • 2017 May 12, Carson Kressley, “RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: ‘RuPaul Roast’”, in Entertainment Weekly‎, archived from the original on 28 March 2019:
      Now here's a little inside scoop, I happen to adore Michelle [Visage] and she has never looked more gorge than in this episode!

Notes
  1. From the V. O. Hammon Collection of the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
  2. From Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, and Frank Moore Colby, editors (1905), “Fishing”, in The New International Encyclopædia, volume 7, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Co., OCLC 1049897922, page 676.
  3. From the 31 March 1962 issue of the 《人民画报》 (People’s Pictorial Newspaper).

References
  1. “gorǧe, n.” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 March 2019.
  2. “gorge, n.1”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1900.
  3. “gorge” (US) / “gorge” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.
  4. “gorǧen, v.” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 March 2019.
  5. “gorge, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1900.
  6. “gorge, n.3”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1900.

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ɡɔʁʒ/
  • audio(file)

Etymology 1

From Old French gorge, from Late Latin gurga, connected to Latin gurges (“a whirlpool, eddy, gulf or sea”).

Noun

gorge f (plural gorges)

  1. throat
  2. breast
  3. gorge
Derived terms
Descendants

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

gorge

  1. first-person singular present indicative of gorger
  2. third-person singular present indicative of gorger
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of gorger
  4. third-person singular present subjunctive of gorger
  5. second-person singular imperative of gorger

Further reading

Italian

Noun

gorge f

  1. plural of gorgia

Middle French

Noun

gorge f (plural gorges)

  1. (anatomy) throat

Norman

Etymology

From Old French gorge, from Late Latin gurga, connected to Latin gurges (“a whirlpool, eddy, gulf or sea”).

Pronunciation
  • Audio (Jersey)(file)

Noun

gorge f (plural gorges)

  1. (Jersey, anatomy) throat

Derived terms

Old French

Etymology

From Late Latin gurga, connected to Latin gurges (“a whirlpool, eddy, gulf or sea”).

Noun

gorge f (oblique plural gorges, nominative singular gorge, nominative plural gorges)

  1. throat

Descendants
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