What is "gad"

Gad \Gad\, n. [OE. gad, Icel. gaddr goad, sting; akin to Sw. gadd sting, Goth. gazds, G. gerte switch. See Yard a measure.]

1. The point of a spear, or an arrowhead.

2. A pointed or wedge-shaped instrument of metal, as a steel wedge used in mining, etc.

   I will go get a leaf of brass, And with a gad of steel will write these words.
   --Shak.

3. A sharp-pointed rod; a goad.

4. A spike on a gauntlet; a gadling.
   --Fairholt.

5. A wedge-shaped billet of iron or steel. [Obs.]

   Flemish steel . . . some in bars and some in gads.
   --Moxon.

6. A rod or stick, as a fishing rod, a measuring rod, or a rod used to drive cattle with. [Prov. Eng. Local, U.S.]
   --Halliwell. Bartlett.

   Upon the gad, upon the spur of the moment; hastily. [Obs.] ``All this done upon the gad!''
   --Shak.

Gad \Gad\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Gadded; p. pr. & vb. n. Gadding.] [Prob. fr. gad, n., and orig. meaning to drive about.] To walk about; to rove or go about, without purpose; hence, to run wild; to be uncontrolled. ``The gadding vine.''
--Milton.

Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way?
--Jer. ii. 36.

mid-15c., gadden, "go quickly, hurry," of uncertain origin, perhaps from gad (n.) "sharp stick for driving oxen" on the notion of moving as animals do when being driven by a gad. There also was a Middle English gadeling (Old English gædeling) "kinsman, companion in arms; fellow, man," but which had a deteriorated sense of "person of low birth, rogue, vagabond" by c.1300 (it also had a meaning "wandering," but this is attested only from 16c.). Related: Gadding.

c.1300, "a goad, sharp pointed stick to drive oxen, etc.;" c.1400, "sharp-pointed metal spike," from Old Norse gaddr "spike, nail," from Proto-Germanic *gadaz "pointed stick" (see yard (n.2)). Attested earlier as "metal bar or rod, ingot" (mid-13c.) hence also in Middle English a unit of length in land-measure, varying from 10 to 16 feet. Not related to goad (n.), but perhaps influenced by it in sense.

acr. generalized anxiety disorder

n. 1 The seventh son of Jacob, by his wife's handmaid Zilpah. 2 One of the Israelite tribes mentioned in the Torah, descended from Gad. 3 (given name male from=Hebrew)

1. v. wander aimlessly in search of pleasure [syn: gallivant, jazz around]

2. [also: gadding, gadded]

Gad was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Jacob and Zilpah, the seventh of Jacob overall, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Gad; however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. The text of the Torah argues that the name of Gad means luck/fortunate, in Hebrew, deriving from a root meaning cut/divide, in the sense of divided out; classical rabbinical literature argues that the name was a prophetic reference to the manna.

The Biblical account shows Zilpah's status as a handmaid change to an actual wife of Jacob Genesis 30:9,11. Her handmaid status is regarded by some biblical scholars as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Gad as being not of entirely Israelite origin; many scholars believe that Gad was a late addition to the Israelite confederation, as implied by the Moabite Stone, which seemingly differentiates between the Israelites and the tribe of Gad. Gad by this theory is assumed to have originally been a northwards-migrating nomadic tribe, at a time when the other tribes were quite settled in Canaan.

According to classical rabbinical literature, Gad was born on 10 Cheshvan, and lived 125 years. These sources go on to state that, unlike his other brothers, Joseph didn't present Gad to the Pharaoh, since Joseph didn't want Gad to become one of Pharaoh's guards, an appointment that would have been likely had the Pharaoh realised that Gad had great strength.

The Book of Jasher states that Gad married Uzith. Uzith was the daughter of Amuram, the granddaughter of Uz and the great-grandson of Nahor (son of Terah).

Gad is a fast food chain that is based in Egypt. Gad specializes in preparing local favorites that are meant to be eaten on the go; few of their outlets have seating. Gad serves falafel, fuul, and shwarmas.

Gad has branches all over Egypt.

In the Bible, Gad was the son of Jacob and the founder of the tribe of Gad. Gad is a surname, masculine given name and nickname which may refer to:

Gad was a seer or prophet in the Hebrew Bible. He was one of the personal prophets of King David of Israel and some of his writings are believed to be included in the Books of Samuel. He is first mentioned in telling David to return to the land of Judah.

The most important Biblical reference to Gad is :11-13, where after David confesses his sin of taking a census of the people of Israel and Judah, God sends Gad to David to offer him his choice of three forms of punishment.

Gad is mentioned a last time in the Books of Samuel in , coming to David and telling him to build an altar to God after He stops the plague that David chose as punishment. The place indicated by Gad for the altar is "in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

tells of an encounter Gad had with the angel of the Lord.

A tomb attributed to Gad is located at Halhul, West Bank.

Gad was the name of the pan- Semitic god of fortune, and is attested in ancient records of Aram and Arabia. Gad is also mentioned by the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 65:11 - some translations simply call him (the god of) Fortune), as having been worshipped by a number of Hebrews during the babylonian captivity. Gad apparently differed from the god of destiny, who was known as Meni. The root verb in Gad means cut or divide, and from this comes the idea of fate being meted out.

It is possible that the son of Jacob named Gad is named after Gad, although the text presents a different reason, the ( ketub) quotation of Zilpa (Gad's mother) giving the reason of Gad's name could be understood that way.

How widespread the cult of Gad, the deity, was in Canaanite times may be inferred from the names Baalgad, a city at the foot of Mount Hermon, and Migdal-gad, in the territory of Judah. Compare also the proper names Gaddi and Gaddiel in the tribes of Manasseh and Zebulun (Numbers 13:10, 11). At the same time it must not be supposed that Gad was always regarded as an independent deity. The name was doubtless originally an appellative, meaning the power that allots. Hence any of the greater gods supposed to favour men might be thought of as the giver of good fortune and be worshiped under that title; it is possible that Jupiter, the planet, may have been the Gad thus honoured - among the Arabs the planet Jupiter was called the greater Fortune ( Venus was styled the lesser Fortune).

Gad is the patron of a locality, a mountain ( Kodashim, tractate Hullin 40a), of an idol (Genesis Rabbah, lxiv), a house, or the world ( Genesis Rabbah, lxxi.). Hence "luck" may also be bad ( Ecclesiastes Rabbah, vii. 26). A couch or bed for this god of fortune is referred to in the Mishnaic tractate Nedarim 56a).

GAD. is a Greek independent alternative rock band with electronic and melodic features. It was formed in 2005 and gained wide recognition with the radio hit "The End of the Road" (2008) which was followed by the hits "Waves" (2010) and "Big Brown Eyes" (2013). All their songs are in English, with influences from Joy Division, Interpol, She Wants Revenge, Stereo Nova and Röyksopp. The name of the band stands for generalized anxiety disorder, with a member stating: "...it's about an illness that more or less had tormented some members of the band...".