*gibb*

n. [ Cf. Ar. jebbār giant; or L. gibber humpbacked: cf. F. gibbar. ] (Zool.) One of several finback whales of the North Atlantic; -- called also Jupiter whale. [ Written also jubartas, gubertas, dubertus. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Gib to balk. ] A balky horse. Youatt. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. gibbered p. pr. & vb. n. gibbering. ] [ Akin to jabber, and gabble. ] To speak rapidly and inarticulately. Shak.
Syn. -- jabber. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.), A plant growth hormone of the gibberellin series (C19H22O6), also called gibberellin A₃. It was first isolated from the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi. It is used to promote the growth of seedlings. See also gibberellin. MI11 [ PJC ]

n. (Chem.), Any of a number plant growth hormones, the first of which was isolated in 1938 from the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi; more than 60 related gibberelins are known. The most important is gibberellin A₃, also called gibberellic acid. They are used in agriculture for promoting plant growth. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

a. Unmeaning; as, gibberish language. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Gibber, v. i. ] 1. Rapid and inarticulate talk; unintelligible language; unmeaning words. [ 1913 Webster ]

He, like a gypsy, oftentimes would go;
All kinds of gibberish he had learnt to know. Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such gibberish as children may be heard amusing themselves with. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Incomprehensible, obscure, or pretentious technical talk or writing; excessively obscure jargon. [ PJC ]

n. [ OE. gibet, F. gibet, in OF. also club, fr. LL. gibetum;; cf. OF. gibe sort of sickle or hook, It. giubbetto gibbet, and giubbetta, dim. of giubba mane, also, an under waistcoat, doublet, Prov. It. gibba (cf. Jupon); so that it perhaps originally signified a halter, a rope round the neck of malefactors; or it is, perhaps, derived fr. L. gibbus hunched, humped, E. gibbous; or cf. E. jib a sail. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A kind of gallows; an upright post with an arm projecting from the top, on which, formerly, malefactors were hanged in chains, and their bodies allowed to remain as a warning. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The projecting arm of a crane, from which the load is suspended; the jib. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Gibbeted p. pr. & vb. n. Gibbeting. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To hang and expose on a gibbet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To expose to infamy; to blacken. [ 1913 Webster ]

I'll gibbet up his name. Oldham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. gibier. ] Wild fowl; game. [ Obs. ] Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. gibbon. ] (Zool.) Any arboreal ape of the genus Hylobates, of which many species and varieties inhabit the East Indies and Southern Asia. They are tailless and without cheek pouches, and have very long arms, adapted for climbing.

☞ The white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar), the crowned (H. pilatus), the wou-wou or singing gibbon (H. agilis), the siamang, and the hoolock. are the most common species. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. gibbosus, fr. gibbus, gibba, hunch, hump. Cf. Gibbous. ] Humped; protuberant; -- said of a surface which presents one or more large elevations. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. gibbosité. ] The state of being gibbous or gibbose; gibbousness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. gibbeux. See Gibbose. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Swelling by a regular curve or surface; protuberant; convex; as, the moon is gibbous between the half-moon and the full moon. [ 1913 Webster ]

The bones will rise, and make a gibbous member. Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hunched; hump-backed. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne.

-- Gib"bous*ly, adv. -- Gib"bous*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]