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gest

gest

9.9
A story about brave adventures of heroes from long ago
  • noun
  • /dʒɛst/
  • Archaic
: gesta
  • In medieval literature, a gest often tells of a knight's valor and chivalry.

Examples

  • The epic poem recounts the gest of Beowulf and his courageous battles with monsters.

  • President Clinton cited a "sea change in public attitude" (Gest 1993, 6).

    Academic text (1995)
  • IT'S WAY MORE THAN GEST--

  • The storyteller captivated the audience with tales of legendary gests from the past.

Synonyms

epic tale
vsgest
  • Literature
1 5.2

A long story about heroes and their great adventures

is an older literary label focusing on historic notable exploits
heroic tale
vsgest
  • Literature
1 4.3

A story about a brave person who faces danger, for example a knight fighting a dragon

is the older or literary term used for historic heroic accounts
geste
vsgest
  • Archaic
9.9

A long old poem that tells of a hero's brave deeds

is the alternate historical form of the same old heroic story term
chanson de geste
vsgest
  • Archaic
9.9

A long Old French poem that tells stories of heroic knights and their deeds

is the more general old story not limited to Old French poems
heroic poem
vsgest
  • Literature
7.4

A long poem that tells the brave deeds of a hero

is the broader old story form not limited to poetic works

How Remarkable

gest
  • Archaic
9.9
feat
108 3.8
deed
281 3.4
incident
∞ 2.7

Surface Forms

gest singular
gests plural

Etymology

Gest comes from Old French geste and Latin gesta, words that mean 'deeds' or 'things done'. A gest is an old story about a brave deed or great action—like a song that praises a hero—and you can see the same root in gesture, which is a 'doing' with the body.