gesticulate

English

WOTD – 2 February 2007

Etymology

From Latin gesticulatus, past participle of gesticulari (“to gesticulate”), from gesticulus (“a mimic gesture”), diminutive of gestus (“gesture”), from gerere, gestum (“to bear, carry, perform”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dʒɛsˈtɪkjʊleɪt/, /dʒɛsˈtɪkjəleɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɛsˈtɪkjəleɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkjʊleɪt

Verb

gesticulate (third-person singular simple present gesticulates, present participle gesticulating, simple past and past participle gesticulated)

1. (intransitive) To make gestures or motions, as in speaking.
2. (transitive) To say or express through gestures.
   • December 6, 2004, Irish Times:

     […] the TV programme Friends is influencing not only the way Irish people speak but also how they gesticulate. Now almost every utterance is accompanied by arms outstretched and palms turned upwards."

Related terms

• gesticulation
• gesticulative
• gesture
• gestural
• emote

Translations

to make gestures

• Bulgarian: жестикулирам (bg) (žestikuliram), ръкомахам (bg) (rǎkomaham)
• Catalan: gesticular (ca), accionar (ca), manejar (ca)
• Danish: gestikulere (da)
• Esperanto: gestadi
• Finnish: elehtiä (fi), viittoilla (fi)
• French: gesticuler (fr)
• Georgian: ჟესტიკულირება (žesṭiḳulireba)
• German: gestikulieren (de)
• Italian: gesticolare (it)
• Latvian: žestikulēt
• Maori: tungatunga, tuone, hūkari, hūkarikari
• Polish: gestykulować (pl)
• Quechua: haywaykachay
• Russian: жестикули́ровать (ru) (žestikulírovatʹ)
• Sicilian: mòviri i manu, gisticulari, fari musiuna
• Spanish: gesticular (es)
• Swedish: gestikulera (sv)
• Welsh: ystumio (cy)

to express through gestures

• Catalan: gesticular (ca)
• Danish: gestikulere (da)
• Finnish: elehtiä (fi), viittoilla (fi)
• Georgian: ჟესტიკულირება (žesṭiḳulireba)
• German: gestikulieren (de)
• Italian: gesticolare (it), segnare (it) (for deaf people)
• Latvian: žestikulēt
• Maori: rotarota
• Russian: жестикули́ровать (ru) (žestikulírovatʹ)
• Sicilian: parrari chî manu, gisticulari, fari musiuna
• Welsh: ystumio (cy)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Portuguese: gesticular (pt)

Spanish

Verb

gesticulate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of gesticular combined with te