Give (gĭv), v. t. [imp.Gave (gāv); p. p.Given (gĭv″'n); p. pr. & vb. n.Giving.] [OE. given, yiven, yeven, AS. gifan, giefan; akin to D. geven, OS. geðan, OHG. geban, G. geben, Icel. gefa, Sw. gifva, Dan. give, Goth. giban. Cf. Gift, n.] 1. To bestow without receiving a return; to confer without compensation; to impart, as a possession; to grant, as authority or permission; to yield up or allow.
For generous lords had rather give than pay. Young.
2. To yield possesion of; to deliver over, as property, in exchange for something; to pay; as, we give the value of what we buy.
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matt. xvi. 26.
3. To yield; to furnish; to produce; to emit; as, flint and steel give sparks.
4. To communicate or announce, as advice, tidings, etc.; to pronounce; to render or utter, as an opinion, a judgment, a sentence, a shout, etc.
5. To grant power or license to; to permit; to allow; to license; to commission.
It is given me once again to behold my friend. Rowe.
Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine. Pope.
6. To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to show; as, the number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.
7. To devote; to apply; used reflexively, to devote or apply one's self; as, the soldiers give themselves to plunder; also in this sense used very frequently in the past participle; as, the people are given to luxury and pleasure; the youth is given to study.
8. (Logic & Math.) To set forth as a known quantity or a known relation, or as a premise from which to reason; — used principally in the passive form given.
9. To allow or admit by way of supposition.
I give not heaven for lost. Mlton.
10. To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover. Sheridan.
11. To excite or cause to exist, as a sensation; as, to give offense; to give pleasure or pain.
12. To pledge; as, to give one's word.
13. To cause; to make; — with the infinitive; as, to give one to understand, to know, etc.
But there the duke was given to understand
That in a gondola were seen together
Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica. Shak.
To give away, to make over to another; to transfer.
Whatsoever we employ in charitable uses during our lives, is given away from ourselves. Atterbury.
— To give back, to return; to restore. Atterbury. — To give the bag, to cheat.
I fear our ears have given us the bag. J. Webster.
— To give birth to. (a) To bear or bring forth, as a child. (b) To originate; to give existence to, as an enterprise, idea. — To give chase, to pursue. — To give ear to. See under Ear. — To give forth, to give out; to publish; to tell. Hayward. — To give ground. See under Ground, n. — To give the hand, to pledge friendship or faith. — To give the hand of, to espouse; to bestow in marriage. — To give the head. See under Head, n. — To give in. (a) To abate; to deduct. (b) To declare; to make known; to announce; to tender; as, to give in one's adhesion to a party. — To give the lie to (a person), to tell (him) that he lies. — To give line. See under Line. — To give off, to emit, as steam, vapor, odor, etc. — To give one's self away, to make an inconsiderate surrender of one's cause, an unintentional disclosure of one's purposes, or the like. — To give out. (a) To utter publicly; to report; to announce or declare.
One that gives out himself Prince Florizel. Shak.
Give out you are of Epidamnum. Shak.
(b) To send out; to emit; to distribute; as, a substance gives out steam or odors. — To give over. (a) To yield completely; to quit; to abandon. (b) To despair of. (c) To addict, resign, or apply (one's self).
The Babylonians had given themselves over to all manner of vice. Grew.
— To give place, to withdraw; to yield one's claim. — To give points. (a) In games of skill, to equalize chances by conceding a certain advantage; to allow a handicap. (b) To give useful suggestions. — To give rein. See under Rein, n. — To give the sack. Same as To give the bag. — To give and take. (a) To average gains and losses. (b) To exchange freely, as blows, sarcasms, etc. — To give time (Law), to accord extension or forbearance to a debtor. Abbott. — To give the time of day, to salute one with the compliment appropriate to the hour, as “good morning.” “good evening”, etc. — To give tongue, in hunter's phrase, to bark; — said of dogs. — To give up. (a) To abandon; to surrender. “Don't give up the ship.”
He has... given up
For certain drops of salt, your city Rome. Shak.
(b) To make public; to reveal.
I'll not state them
By giving up their characters. Beau. & Fl.
(c) (Used also reflexively.) — To give up the ghost. See under Ghost. — To give one's self up, to abandon hope; to despair; to surrender one's self. — To give way. (a) To withdraw; to give place. (b) To yield to force or pressure; as, the scaffolding gave way. (c) (Naut.) To begin to row; or to row with increased energy. (d) (Stock Exchange). To depreciate or decline in value; as, railroad securities gave way two per cent. — To give way together, to row in time; to keep stroke.
Syn. — To Give, Confer, Grant. To give is the generic word, embracing all the rest. To confer was originally used of persons in power, who gave permanent grants or privileges; as, to confer the order of knighthood; and hence it still denotes the giving of something which might have been withheld; as, to confer a favor. To grant is to give in answer to a petition or request, or to one who is in some way dependent or inferior.