gift

Etymology

From Middle English gift (also yift, yifte, ȝift, ȝeft), partly from Old English ġift (“giving, consideration, dowry, wedding”) and Old Norse gipt (“gift, present, wedding”); both from Proto-Germanic *giftiz (“gift”). Equivalent to give + -th (etymologically yive + -th). Cognate with West Frisian jefte (“gift”), Saterland Frisian Gift (“gift”), German Low German Gift (“poison”), Dutch gift (“gift”) and its doublet gif (“poison”), German Gift (“poison”), Danish gift (“gift (obsolete); poison, venom”), Swedish gift (“gift, poison, venom”), Icelandic gift (“gift”). Doublet of yift.

noun

1. Something given to another voluntarily, without charge.
   “I thank you for the gift, Dr. Yueh,” Paul said, speaking formally. “It will be our secret. If there is a gift or favor you wish from me, please do not hesitate to ask.” "I . . . need for nothing," Yueh said. 1965, Frank Herbert, Dune (Science Fiction), New York: Ace Books, →OCLC, page 48
   She bought the model as a surprise gift for a friend who is a lifelong HST fan and railwayman, and who will soon be celebrating a milestone birthday. October 20 2021, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 942, page 71
2. A talent or natural ability.
   She had a gift for playing the flute.
3. Something gained incidentally, without effort.
4. The act, right, or power of giving or bestowing.
   The office is in the gift of the President.

verb

1. (transitive) To give as a gift or donation.
2. (transitive) To give away, to concede easily.
   Chelsea threw away two points when substitute Salomon Kalou gifted Valencia a penalty five minutes from time with a needless handball. September 28, 2011, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1 - 1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport
   They drove on, every rise in the road lifting their sightline clear of the drystone dykes along the roadside, gifting glimpses of the firth and the islands, the blue peaks of Arran. 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 440