gerful

Middle English

Etymology

Compare Old French girer (“to twirl”), English gyrate.

Adjective

gerful

1. changeable; capricious
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Knight's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 1536-1538:

     [...] Right so can gery Venus overcaste
     The hertes of hir folk; right as hir day
     Is gerful, right so chaungeth she array.

     [...] Just so can fickle Venus sadden
     The hearts of her folk; just as her day
     Is changeable, just so she changes her array.

References

• “gerful”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.