Chapter Gehenna to Geneva Print of G by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Gehenna to Geneva Print

Gehenna (Hebrew, g hard). The place of eternal torment. Strictly speaking, it means simply the Valley of Hinnom (Ge-Hinnom), where sacrifices to Moloch were offered and where refuse of all sorts was subsequently cast, for the consumption of which fires were kept constantly burning.

"And made his grove
The pleasant valley of Hinnom, Tophet thence
And black Gehenna called, the type of hell."
Milton: Paradise Lost, book i. 403-5.

Gelert (g hard). The name of Llewellyn's dog. One day a wolf entered the room where the infant son of the Welsh prince was asleep; Gelert flew at it and killed it; but when Llewellyn returned home and saw his dog's mouth bloody, he hastily concluded that it had killed his child, and thrust it through with his sword. The howl of the dog awoke the child, and the prince saw too late his fatal rashness. Beth-gelert is the name of the place where the dog was buried. (See Beth-Gelert, Dog.)
    A similar story is told of Czar Piras of Russia. In the Gesta Romanorum the story is told of Folliculus, a knight, but instead of a serpent the dog is said to have killed a wolf. The story occurs again in the Seven Wise Masters. In the Sanskrit version the dog is called an ichneumon and the wolf a "black snake." In the Hitopadesa (iv, 3) the dog is an otter; in the Arabic a weasel; in the Mongolian a pole-cat; in the Persian a cat, etc.

Gellatley (Davie). The idiot servant of the Baron of Bradwardine. (Sir W. Scott: Waverley.) Also spelt GELLATLY.

Gemara (g hard), which means "complement," is applied to the second part of the Talmud, which consists of annotations, discussions, and amplifications of the Jewish Mishna. There is the Babylonian Gemara and the Jerusalem Gemara. The former, which is the more complete, is by the academies of Babylon; the latter by those of Palestine.

"Scribes and Pharisees ... set little value on the study of the Law itself, but much on that of the commentaries of the rabbis, now embodied in the Mishna and Gemara." - Geikie: Life of Christ, vol. ii. ch. xxxvi. p. 64.

Gemmagog Son of the giant Oromedon, and inventor of the Poulan shoes - i.e. shoes with a spur behind, and turned-up toes fastened to the knees. These shoes were forbidden by Charles V. of France in 1365, but the fashion revived again. (Duchat: Ouvres de Rabelais.)
    According to the same authority, giants were great inventors: Erix invented legerdemain; Gabbara, drinking healths; Gemmagog, Poulan shoes; Hapmouche, drying and smoking neats' tongues; etc. etc.

Gems (See Jewels .)

Gendarmes "Men at arms," the armed police of France. The term was first applied to those who marched in the train of knights; subsequently to the cavalry; in the time of Louis XIV. to a body of horse charged with the preservation of order; after the revolution to a military police chosen from old soldiers of good character; now it is applied to the ordinary police, whose costume is half civil and half military.

Gender-words: Billy, nanny; boar, sow; buck, doe; bull, cow; cock, hen; dog, bitch; ewe, tup; groom = man; he, she; Jack, Jenny; male, female; man, maid; man, woman; master, mistress; Tom; tup, dam; and several "Christian" names; as in the following examples: -
   Ape: Dog ape, bitch ape.
   Ass: Jack ass and Jenny; he ass, she ass.
   Bear: He bear, she bear.
   Bird: Male bird, female bird; cock bird, hen bird.
   Blackcock (grouse); moorcock and hen (red grouse).
   Bridegroom, bride.
   Calf: Bull calf, cow calf.
   Cat: Tom cat, lady cat, he and she cat. Gib cat (q.v.).
   Charwoman.
   Child: Male child, female child; man child, woman child (child is either male or female, except when sex is referred to).
   Devil: He and she devil (if sex is referred to).
   Donkey: Male and female donkey. (See Ass.)
   Elephant: Bull and cow elephant; male and female elephant.
   Fox: Dog and bitch fox; the bitch is also called a vixen.
   Game cock.
   Gentleman, gentlewoman or lady.
   Goat: Billy and Nanny goat; he and she goat; buck goat.
   Hare: Buck and doe hare.
   Heir: Heir male, heir female
   Kinsman, kinswoman.
   Lamb: ewe lamb, tup lamb.
   Mankind, womankind.
   Merman, mermaid.
   Milkman, milkmaid or milk-woman.
   Moorcock, moorhen
   Otter: Dog and bitch otter.
   Partridge: Cock and hen partridge.
   Peacock, peahen.
   Pheasant: Cock and hen pheasant.
   Pig: Boar and sow pig.
   Rabbit: Buck and doe rabbit.
   Rat: A Jack rat.
   Schoolmaster, schoolmistress.
   Seal: Bull and cow. The bull of fur seals under six years of age is called a "Bachelor."
   Servant: Male and female servant; man and maid servant.
   Singer, songstress; man