gorge

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   The front aspect of the neck

   The front aspect of the neck; the outside of the throat.

   • His gall did grate for griefe and high diſdaine, And knitting all his force got one hand free, Wherewith he grypt her gorge with ſo great paine, That ſoone to looſe her wicked bands did her co[n]ſtraine.
2. 2

   The inside of the throat

   The inside of the throat; the esophagus, the gullet; (falconry, specifically) the crop or gizzard of a hawk.

   • Gleam, a term uſed after a hawk hath caſt and gleameth, or throweth up filth from her gorge.
   • Then as it [a giant serpent] opened its gorge with a gasp, Darra his son made a running bound, And keeping his sharp skian firm in his grasp, Dived headlong into its throat profound.
3. 3

   The throat of a flower.

4. ›+ 15 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Food that has been taken into the gullet or the stomach, particularly if it is…

      Food that has been taken into the gullet or the stomach, particularly if it is regurgitated or vomited out.

      • My gorge rises at the sight of it.
      • Alas poore Yoricke, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite ieſt, of moſt excellent fancie, hee hath bore me on his backe a thouſand times, and now how how abhorred in my imagination it is: my gorge riſes at it.
   2. 5

      A choking or filling of a channel or passage by an obstruction

      A choking or filling of a channel or passage by an obstruction; the obstruction itself.

      • an ice gorge in a river
      • An ice gorge had formed in the bed of the river at the head of the island and from bank to bank logs, driftwood, broken ice and giant floes were packed and jammed so tightly as to resist the action of the mighty current.
   3. 6

      A concave moulding

      A concave moulding; a cavetto.

   4. 7

      The rearward side of an outwork, a bastion, or a fort, often open, or not protected…

      The rearward side of an outwork, a bastion, or a fort, often open, or not protected against artillery; a narrow entry passage into the outwork of an enclosed fortification.

      • Ramps lead from the gorges of the bastions down to these outlets into the main ditch. […] To keep open the communication between the bastions, a gallery between their gorges is made along the curtain wall.
   5. 8

      A primitive device used instead of a hook to catch fish, consisting of an object that is…

      A primitive device used instead of a hook to catch fish, consisting of an object that is easy to swallow but difficult to eject or loosen, such as a piece of bone or stone pointed at each end and attached in the middle to a line.

      • Hooks of willow wood or bone (often from wishbone) and copper gorges (thin bipointed rods with a fishline attachment in the middle) could be baited with fish scrap or meat.
   6. 9

      A deep, narrow passage with steep, rocky sides, particularly one with a stream running…

      A deep, narrow passage with steep, rocky sides, particularly one with a stream running through it; a ravine.

      • It is moreover certain that for eight or nine months of the year, the great rivers rush from their gorges into the mountains as torrents of clear water, or only, in the hot months, discoloured by fine glacial mud; […]
      • As far as the eye can reach is a sea of green tree tops, with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm. Here and there are silver threads where the rivers wind in deep gorges through the forests.
      • Our part of the veranda did not hang over the gorge, but edged the meadow where half a dozen large and sleek horses had stopped grazing to join us.
   7. 10

      The groove of a pulley.

      • But as the rope muſt lead the pulley, or the pulley the rope, when there is room to apprehend that the rope may not ſlide upon the pulley, the gorge is hollowed in the form of an angle, or ſtuck with points,[…].
   8. 11

      A whirlpool used as a heraldic charge.

      • The heraldic name for whirlpools is gorges, and a mediaeval family called Gorges bore a whirlpool as its arms.
   9. 12

      To stuff the gorge or gullet with food

      To stuff the gorge or gullet with food; to eat greedily and in large quantities.

      • They gorged themselves on chocolate and cake.
      • "Friend," he said, after watching him for some minutes, "if thou gorgest thyself in this fashion, thou wilt assuredly choak. Wilt thou not take a draught out of my cup to help down all that dry meat?"
   10. 13

       To swallow, especially with greediness, or in large mouthfuls or quantities.

       • Seiz'd by his [a lion's] stalwart teeth, at once | his victim's [a cow's] neck is broken: Thereafter, swilleth he the blood, | and all her entrails gorgeth.
   11. 14

       To fill up to the throat

       To fill up to the throat; to glut, to satiate.

       • If in thy doting and decrepit age, Thy ſoul, a ſtranger in thy youth to rage, Begins in cruel deeds to take delight, Gorge with my blood thy barb'rous appetite; […]
       • The giant, gorg'd with flesh, and wine, and blood, Lay stretch'd at length and snoring in his den, Belching raw gobbets from his maw, o'ercharged With purple wine and curdled gore confus'd.
   12. 15

       To fill up (an organ, a vein, etc.)

       To fill up (an organ, a vein, etc.); to block up or obstruct; (US, specifically) of ice: to choke or fill a channel or passage, causing an obstruction.

       • At the mouth of the river there is shoal water, in which the ice grounds, and in severe weather, it forms a point of support for successive floating masses, until it sometimes gorges up for many miles above the ferry of the railway line.
   13. 16

       An act of gorging.

   14. 17

       Gorgeous.

       • Oh, look at him: isn’t he gorge?
       • "Um, Hadley? Don't tell me that's another new outfit. It's totally gorge!” Sofia stopped me in the middle of the hallway to admire the clothes I'd meticulously picked out that morning.
       • While she's [Katy Perry's] been hard at work on her singing and choreography, designers have been hard at work coming up with the most gorge, glam, and fabulous costumes for her to wear on stage.
   15. 18

       A male given name.

The neighborhood

• neighborgorget
• neighborgorgeted