gest

Pronounced: jest, noun

Notes: This is a different word than “jest”, even though they are pronounced the same

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Yesterday’s word

The word guy, as a noun, means

• a man (when used in plural, a group of people of either sex)
• a rope to steady, guide, or secure something

As a verb, it means

• to make fun of; ridicule
• to steady, guide, or secure something with a rope

First usage

The first definitions above came into English in the mid-1800s. The second definitions are older and came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

Let’s start with the second definitions first: I have heard the term “guy wire”, but I was unaware of the verb meaning. The second definitions comes from the Old French word guie (guide), which comes from guier (to guide). As for the first definitions, I don’t think I’ve every run across the verb meaning (to make fun of; ridicule). I have long thought that the word came from the Hebrew / Yiddish word “goy” (stranger; non-Jew; Gentile), with the vowel sound “oi” changing to a long “i’). But according to the vocabulary reference, it comes from Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the English Parliament in 1605.