gnast

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -æst

Etymology 1

From Middle English gnast, knast, from Old English *gnāst (“spark”) (attested in fȳrgnāst (“spark of fire”)), from Proto-Germanic *gahnaistô (“spark”), from Proto-Germanic *ga- + Proto-Germanic *hnaistô (“spark”), perhaps from the ultimate (imitative) source of German knistern (“to crackle”).

Cognate with German dialectal Ganster (“spark”), Danish gnist (“spark, sparkle”), Swedish gnista (“spark”), Icelandic gneisti, neisti (“spark”), German Gneis (“spark, gneiss”) (whence English gneiss).

Noun

gnast (plural gnasts)

1. (obsolete) A spark; a dying or dead spark, as of a snuffed candle.

Etymology 2

From Middle English gnasten, gnaisten, from Old English *gnǣstan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaistijaną, causative of *gnīstijaną (“to grind”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰneydh-, *gʰneyd- (“to gnaw, scratch, rub”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian knasterje (“to gnash”), German Low German gnatschen (“to knead, gnash”), German knastern (“to gnash”), Icelandic gnesta (“to crack”).

Verb

gnast (third-person singular simple present gnasts, present participle gnasting, simple past and past participle gnasted)

1. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To gnash.

Derived terms

• gnasting

Anagrams

• 'ganst, Gnats, Stang, Tangs, Tsang, angst, gnat's, gnats, stang, tangs

Middle English

Alternative forms

• gnost, gnoste, knast

Etymology

From Old English *gnāst, from Proto-Germanic *gahnaistô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡnast/, /ɡnɔːst/

Noun

gnast

1. spark (small fire)
2. ash (burnt-out lit matter)

Descendants

• English: gnast

References

• “gnōst, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.