Gist Was a Legal Term About Where a Case Rested
The gist is the essential point of something. The word came from French law, meaning it lies.
The gist is the substance or essential point of a matter. It comes from Anglo-French legal language: *cest action gist*, this action lies, meaning the grounds on which a case rested. English lawyers spoke of the gist of an action, the point without which it would fail, and the word escaped into general use. The French verb is *gésir*, to lie, and it survives in the tomb inscription *ci-gît*, here lies.
- The essential point. *The gist of it.*
- A legal ground. *The gist of the action.*
- To lie (French). *Gésir.*
- Ci-gît — here lies. *Ci-gît.*
- Anglo-French — *gist*, it lies. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | gist | The gist. |
| French | gésir | To lie. |
| French | ci-gît | Here lies. |
| Related | joist | A joist. |
| Latin | jacere | To lie. |
- Give me the gist of it.Summary.
- The gist of the action.Law.
- Ci-gît means here lies.French.
Legal words that escaped into English
- Gist — the ground on which a case rests
- Alibi — Latin for elsewhere
- Verdict — a true saying
- Culprit — probably from a clerk's abbreviation
- Bias — from bowls, but fixed by legal use
Anglo-French *gist*, it lies, from Old French *gesir*, to lie, from Latin *jacere*.
Where does gist come from?
Anglo-French legal language. The gist of an action was the ground it rested on, the point without which the case would fail.
Is gist related to joist?
Yes. Both come from Latin jacere, to lie. A joist is a beam that lies across a span.