Do You Give Presents Or Gifts? WATCH: Do You Give Presents Or Gifts? Where do the words gift and present a gift for valentine’s day from?

Language is not a linear, predestined development. Even though it may feel as if the language we speak is in some way the logical conclusion of thousands of years of development, every word that we use has a unique, sometimes circuitous history. So, let’s dig a little deeper into the histories and meanings of these two words. The word gift appears to come from an Old Norse word, with cousins across the Germanic language. Like gift, the English verb give is found in forms in Old English but also influenced by Old Norse forms, too. Suffice it to say, both gift and give share ancient Germanic roots.

Now, how about using gift as a verb? That’s a new thing, isn’t it? That may be a new pet peeve of some people, but using gift as verb is old, too, going back to at least 1600s. Switching the parts of speech of words, like using a noun as a verb, is one of the great, well, gifts of the English language. The word refers to the common practice of giving away a gift that you received from someone else, like candles, bubble bath, and ugly slippers. This verb is also older than you think, found in the 1800s!

Get the fascinating stories of your favorite words in your inbox. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. When did gifts become an essential part of the Christmas holiday? Learn more about Santa and his sidekicks here. What Is The Medical Term For Fainting?

This iframe contains the logic required to handle Ajax powered Gravity Forms. This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity. Those extra points he got in the game were a total gift. Do You Give Presents or Gifts? It’s that time of year again! Which will you be giving, gifts or presents?

Speak without worry, because the giving of both presents and gifts are incredibly welcome this holiday season. WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS? Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift. Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa. Behind the scenes of the U. Baseball Spoken Here’ stenciled across the front.

Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B. 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. To save this word, you’ll need to log in. How does the noun gift differ from other similar words? Some common synonyms of gift are aptitude, bent, faculty, genius, knack, and talent.

While all these words mean “a special ability for doing something,” gift often implies special favor by God or nature. When can aptitude be used instead of gift? The words aptitude and gift can be used in similar contexts, but aptitude implies a natural liking for some activity and the likelihood of success in it. How do bent and aptitude relate to one another, in the sense of gift? Bent is nearly equal to aptitude but it stresses inclination perhaps more than specific ability. Where would faculty be a reasonable alternative to gift? In some situations, the words faculty and gift are roughly equivalent.

However, faculty applies to an innate or less often acquired ability for a particular accomplishment or function. When could genius be used to replace gift? When would knack be a good substitute for gift? Although the words knack and gift have much in common, knack implies a comparatively minor but special ability making for ease and dexterity in performance. In what contexts can talent take the place of gift?