gist

Where does the word "gist" come from? It comes from Latin jacet, passing through Anglo-French before entering English (1700s).

Gist’s story begins in Latin: jacet meant “it lies.” It lies, from jacere (to lie), used in legal Latin for where a case rests. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Anglo-French as gist. From the legal phrase cest action gist (this action lies), naming the real basis of a lawsuit. It reached English by 1700s as gist. Settled as the English word for the essential point or main substance of something. Today, gist means the essential point or main substance of an argument, speech, or piece of writing.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient jacet "it lies", it lies, from jacere (to lie), used in legal Latin for where a case rests.
2. Stage 2 · Anglo-French · medieval gist "the real basis of a legal case", from the legal phrase cest action gist (this action lies), naming the real basis of a lawsuit.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1700s gist "the essential point or main substance of something", settled as the English word for the essential point or main substance of something.