gesture: [15] Originally, a person’s gesture was their ‘bearing’, the way they ‘carried’ themselves: ‘He was a knight of yours full true, and comely of gesture’, Sir Cleges 1410. But by the 16th century it was well on its way via ‘bodily movement’ to ‘bodily movement conveying a particular message’. The word came from medieval Latin gestūra, a derivative of Latin gerere ‘carry, conduct oneself, act’. A parallel derivative was gestus ‘action’ (ultimate source of English jest and jester), whose diminutive gesticulus produced English gesticulate [17]. => gestation, gesticulate, jest, jester
gesture (n.)
early 15c., "manner of carrying the body," from Medieval Latin gestura "bearing, behavior, mode of action," from Latin gestus "gesture, carriage, posture" (see gest). Restricted sense of "a movement of the body or a part of it, intended to express a thought or feeling," is from 1550s; figurative sense of "action undertaken in good will to express feeling" is from 1916.
gesture (v.)
1540s, from gesture (n.). Related: Gestured; gesturing.
双语例句
1. Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.
他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。
来自柯林斯例句
2. He put his hand under her chin in an almost paternal gesture.
他以近乎父亲的姿态用手托着她的下巴。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She bowed her head in a gesture somehow reminiscent of royalty.
她低头的姿势让人想起皇室风范。
来自柯林斯例句
4. They expected a reciprocal gesture before more hostages could be freed.
在更多人质获得自由之前他们期望看到对方也有相应的表示。
来自柯林斯例句
5. There is an enormous sense of mission in his speech and gesture.