gorge
Part of speech: noun
verb
adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: architecture
biology
botany
engineering
fishing
fortification
fortifications
geography
government
heraldry
hobbies
lifestyle
mechanical
mechanical-engineering
military
monarchy
natural-sciences
nobility
physical-sciences
politics
war
Etymology: From Middle English gorge (“esophagus, gullet; throat; bird's crop; food in a hawk's crop; food or drink that has been eaten”), a borrowing from Old French gorge (“throat”) (modern French gorge (“throat; breast”)), from Vulgar Latin *gorga, *gurga, from Latin gurges (“eddy, whirlpool; gulf; sea”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour, swallow; to eat”). The English word is cognate with Galician gorxa (“throat”), Italian gorga, gorgia (“gorge, ravine; (obsolete) throat”), Occitan gorga, gorja, Portuguese gorja (“gullet, throat; gorge”), Spanish gorja (“gullet, throat; gorge”). Doublet of gour and gurges.
Inflected forms:
form: gorges
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: gorges
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: gorging
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: gorged
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: gorged
pos: verb
tags: past
form: more gorge
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most gorge
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: gorg
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: The front aspect of the neck; the outside of the throat.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
examples: 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.
gloss: The inside of the throat; the esophagus, the gullet; (falconry, specifically) the crop or gizzard of a hawk.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
literary
examples: I wil tel you, Scholer, that unleſs the hook be faſt in his [the trout's] very Gorge, he wil live, and a little time with the help of the water, wil ruſt the hook, & it wil in time wear away as the gravel does in the horſe hoof, which only leaves a falſe quarter.
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.
gloss: The throat of a flower.
pos: noun
gloss: Food that has been taken into the gullet or the stomach, particularly if it is regurgitated or vomited out.
pos: noun
examples: My gorge rises at the sight of it.
And like a Crane his [Gluttony's] necke was long and fyne,
 With which he ſwallow'd vp exceſſive feaſt,
 For want whereof poore people oft did pyne,
 And all the way, moſt like a brutiſh beaſt,
 He ſpued vp his gorge, that all did him deteaſt.
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.
Now her worries about Charles Wallace and her disappointment in her father’s human fallibility rose like gorge in her throat.
So Lyra clung to Pantalaimon and her head swam and her gorge rose, and cold as the night was, a sickly sweat moistened her flesh with something colder still.
gloss: A choking or filling of a channel or passage by an obstruction; the obstruction itself.
pos: noun
tags: US
examples: 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.
gloss: A concave moulding; a cavetto.
pos: noun
examples: GORGE, Gula, in architecture, the narroweſt part of Tuſcan and Doric capitals, lying between the aſtragal, above the ſhaft of the pillar and the annulets. […] It is alſo uſed for a concave moulding, larger, but not ſo deep as a ſcotia, which ſerves for compartments, &c.
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
examples: Half Moon. An Outwork conſiſting of two Faces, which makes an Angle Salient, the Gorge whereof bends in like a Bow, or Creſcent, and were formerly us'd to cover the Point of a Baſtion, which diſtinguiſhes them from Ravelins, always plac'd before the Curtin; […]
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.
Construction on this massive fort was never completed. […] Only the foundations and a few tiers of stone were completed on the two gorge walls and the gorge bastion. At this point, a significant modification in design was made. […] In this way, the gorge of the fort was closed at minimum expense.
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
Examining this piece of worked stone, which once belonged to a prehistoric man living in that valley, we find it fairly well polished, though the action of countless years has slightly "weathered" or disintegrated its once smooth surface. In the center, a groove has been cut, and the ends of the stone rise slightly from the middle. It is rather crescent-shaped. It must have been tied to a line, and this stone gorge was covered with a bait; the fish swallowed it, and, the gorge coming crosswise with the gullet, the fish was captured. […] In the Swiss lakes are found the remains of the Lacustrine dwellers. Among the many implements discovered are fish-gorges made of bronze wire. When these forms are studied, the fact must be recognized at once that they follow, in shape and principle of construction, the stone gorges of the Neolithic period.
gloss: A deep, narrow passage with steep, rocky sides, particularly one with a stream running through it; a ravine.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
gloss: The groove of a pulley.
pos: noun
examples: 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,[…].
A cord, in passing round a pulley, lies in a groove, sometimes called the gorge of the pulley; if the object of the pulley is merely to support, guide, or strain the cord, the gorge may be considerably wider than the cord; if the pulley is to drive or to be driven by the cord, so as to transmit motive power, the gorge must in general fit the cord closely, or even be of a triangular shape, so as to hold it tight.
gloss: A whirlpool used as a heraldic charge.
pos: noun
tags: plural-normally
examples: The heraldic name for whirlpools is gorges, and a mediaeval family called Gorges bore a whirlpool as its arms.
gloss: To stuff the gorge or gullet with food; to eat greedily and in large quantities.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
reflexive
examples: They gorged themselves on chocolate and cake.
[I]f the preceding night prove dark and cloudy, the ſucceeding day, will be no good day to angle in, unleſs it be for ſmall fiſh; for at ſuch time the larger prey abroad for the leſſer; who by inſtinct knowing the danger, hide themſelves till the morning; and having faſted all night, become then very hungry while the larger having gorged themſelves, lie abſconded all the day.
"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?"
Bulimia is an eating disorder that consists of gorging on food, followed by self-induced vomiting. This behavioral disorder may be part of anorexia nervosa or may constitute a distinct, separate syndrome.
gloss: To swallow, especially with greediness, or in large mouthfuls or quantities.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
If you use live bait, be exceedingly careful in determining when the fish has gorged it. You should give him several minutes after he has seized it, for this purpose. On seeing the bait, a pickerel will generally run off with it, and will then stop to gorge it, but does not always do so. […] But if he has gorged the bait, he will soon start off a second time, and sometimes will stop and start off the third time. In these cases, you should never be in a hurry. when you are convinced that he has taken down the bait, draw a tight line, and strike for your fish.
gloss: To fill up to the throat; to glut, to satiate.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
gloss: 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.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
The morbid appearances left in the body after poisoning with carbonic acid gas have been chiefly observed in persons killed by charcoal vapour. […] the heart and great veins are gorged with black fluid blood; the eyes are generally glistening and prominent, the face red, and the tongue protruding and black. Gorging of the cerebral vessels seems to be very common.
He'd meant to only kiss her, to play a bit with her mouth, to place small kisses on the fragile bones of her cheeks, but when their tongues met, the gentleness flamed to full-fledged wanting. His cock gorged swiftly, and he pressed her tight against him between his legs.
gloss: Gorgeous.
pos: adj
tags: slang
examples: 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.
Now here's a little inside scoop, I happen to adore Michelle [Visage] and she has never looked more gorge than in this episode!
Related words: gorget
gorgeted
Derived words: circle of the gorge
gorge circle
Gorge Creek
gorge fishing
gorge hook
gorgelet
gorge-walking
Little Colorado River Gorge
Murray Gorge
Royal Gorge
The Gorge
disgorge
engorge
gorger
gorging
overgorge
regorge
ungorge
Translations: