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Definition 2024

gnast

gnast

English

Noun

gnast ‎(plural gnasts)

  1. (obsolete) A spark; a dying spark; a dead spark, as of a snuffed candle.

Etymology 2

From Middle English gnasten, gnaisten, from Old English *gnǣstan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaistijaną, causative of *gnīstijaną ‎(“to grind”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghneidh-, *ghneid- ‎(“to gnaw, scratch, rub”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian knasterje ‎(“to gnash”), German Low German gnatschen ‎(“to knead, gnash”), German knastern ‎(“to gnash”), Icelandic gnesta ‎(“to crack”).

Verb

gnast ‎(third-person singular simple present gnasts, present participle gnasting, simple past and past participle gnasted)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To gnash.
Derived terms

Etymology

From Middle English gnast, knast, from Old English *gnāst ‎(“spark”) (in combination fȳrgnāst ‎(“spark of fire”)), from Proto-Germanic *gahnaistô ‎(“spark”), from Proto-Germanic *ga- + Proto-Germanic *hnaistô ‎(“spark”). Cognate with German dialectal Ganster ‎(“spark”), Danish gnist ‎(“spark, sparkle”), Swedish gnista ‎(“spark”), Icelandic gneisti, neisti ‎(“spark”), German Gneis ‎(“spark, gneiss”) (English gneiss).

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