Definition of "gist"

Should they live and build their church in the American wilderness, their worst dangers would rise in and among themselves rather than outside. That was the gist of the lesson from their pastor and "wellwiller" John Robinson.

1948, Carl Sandburg, “Store We Up therefore Patience”, in Remembrance Rock, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & World, part 2, page 103

He was handing her something in an envelope, and she was saying “Oh, Jeeves, you've saved a human life,” and he was saying “Not at all, miss.” The gist, of course, escaped me, but I had no leisure to probe into gists.

1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XIX, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins

The gists of the reports, however, their logic, their structural coherence, are molded by a concern to reconstruct the past, by antiquarian interest.

1988, Baruch Halpern, “Sisera and Old Lace: The Case of Deborah and Yael”, in The First Historians: The Hebrew Bible and History, San Francisco, Calif.: Harper & Row, part 1 (Romance and Historiography: Two Cases of Historiography in Microcosm), page 97

And the work was going very well. I was really just vomiting images like spoiled sushi (that may be an ill-considered metaphor, but you get my gist).

1994 July 15 (first performance), Nicky Silver, “The Food Chain”, in Etiquette and Vitriol, The Food Chain and Other Plays, New York, N.Y.: Theatre Communications Group, published November 1996, scene i (Amanda), page 10

I don't remember his exact words, but the gist of it was that he wanted it all for nothing, as quickly as possible, without any effort.

2003, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter V, in David McDuff, transl., Crime and Punishment, revised edition, London: Penguin Books, part 2, page 183

There's evidence that even our unconscious efficiently only stores the gists of memories and that to fill in details our conscious fabricates them.

2004, Paul Dehn Carleton, “Un- to CONSCIOUSness”, in Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-minded Skeptics of Catholic, and Other Christian, Jewish & Muslim Backgrounds, Pontiac, Mich.: Carleton House, part II (Science Concepts), page 131

[T]heſe charges, of a traiterous or felonious intent, are the points and very giſt of the indictment, and muſt be anſvvered directly, by the general negative, not guilty; […]

1769, William Blackstone, “Of Plea, and Issue”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, page 333

[H]e is guilty of a dereliction of opinions that are true and laudable. This is the great giſt of the charge againſt him.

1791 August 3, [Edmund Burke], An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs, […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], page 30

But it is observable that the substance or gist of the action is not always the principal cause of the plaintiff's complaint in point of fact, nor that on which he recovers all or the greatest part of his damages. It frequently happens that upon that part of his declaration which contains the substance or gist of the action he recovers nominal damages, and he gets his principal satisfaction on account of matters altogether collateral thereto.

1839, John Bouvier, “GIST”, in A Law Dictionary, […], volumes I (A–K), Philadelphia, Pa.: T. & J. W. Johnson, […], successors to Nicklin & Johnson, […], page 445, column 1

Naturally, therefore, conceiving that the gite of the lawyer's reasoning was to defend the want of resemblance as an admitted fact, which it would be useless to deny, the worthy magistrate closed the pleadings, and gave sentence against Mr Whelp, the plaintiff.]

, “The King of Hayti. From the German. Chapter III. ‘In the Second Place’—Dinner is on the Table.”, in Thomas De Quincey, transl., Speculations Literary and Philosophic: With German Tales and Other Narrative Papers (De Quincey’s Works; XII), London: James Hogg & Sons, page 41

There are two general ways of getting information, and these two general ways may be summed up in this: take one branch of study and its principles are all gisted, they have been gisted by the accumulated thought of years gone by. These gisted thoughts are axioms, or received principles, and the pupils of the day take these axioms or principles, and accept them as facts, and apply them to this, that or the other individual case.

1872 August 7, J. H. Hoose, “Professional Instruction in Normal Schools”, in The Addresses and Journal of Proceedings of the National Educational Association, Session of the Year 1872, at Boston, Massachusetts, Peoria, Ill.: N. C. Nason, […] [for the National Education Association], published 1873, page 201

Theſe Quailes have their ſet giſts, to vvit, ordinarie reſting and baiting places.

1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book X.] Of Cranes, Storkes, Swans, Quailes, the Glotis, and Strange Birds of Other Countries.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, page 282

But the Conſul after that he had intelligence that Perſeus had croſſed over to Samothracia, departed from Pella, and at the fourth giſt and journey that he made, came to Amphipolis.

1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XLIV]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], page 958