What is "to give up the ghost"

Ghost \Ghost\ (g[=o]st), n. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. g[=a]st breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g[=e]st spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]

1. The spirit; the soul of man. [Obs.]

   Then gives her grieved ghost thus to lament.
   --Spenser.

2. The disembodied soul; the soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death; an apparition; a specter.

   The mighty ghosts of our great Harrys rose.
   --Shak.

   I thought that I had died in sleep, And was a blessed ghost.
   --Coleridge.

3. Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image; a phantom; a glimmering; as, not a ghost of a chance; the ghost of an idea.

   Each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
   --Poe.

4. A false image formed in a telescope by reflection from the surfaces of one or more lenses.

   Ghost moth (Zo["o]l.), a large European moth ( Hepialus humuli); so called from the white color of the male, and the peculiar hovering flight; -- called also great swift.

   Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit; the Paraclete; the Comforter; (Theol.) the third person in the Trinity.

   To give up the ghost or To yield up the ghost, to die; to expire.

   And he gave up the ghost full softly.
   --Chaucer.

   Jacob . . . yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
   --Gen. xlix. 33.

Give \Give\ (g[i^]v), v. t. [imp. Gave (g[=a]v); p. p. Given (g[i^]v"'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Giving.] [OE. given, yiven, yeven, AS. gifan, giefan; akin to D. geven, OS. ge[eth]an, OHG. geban, G. geben, Icel. gefa, Sw. gifva, Dan. give, Goth. giban. Cf. Gift, n.]

1. To bestow without receiving a return; to confer without compensation; to impart, as a possession; to grant, as authority or permission; to yield up or allow.

   For generous lords had rather give than pay.
   --Young.

2. To yield possesion of; to deliver over, as property, in exchange for something; to pay; as, we give the value of what we buy.

   What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?
   --Matt. xvi. 26.

3. To yield; to furnish; to produce; to emit; as, flint and steel give sparks.

4. To communicate or announce, as advice, tidings, etc.; to pronounce; to render or utter, as an opinion, a judgment, a sentence, a shout, etc.

5. To grant power or license to; to permit; to allow; to license; to commission.

   It is given me once again to behold my friend.
   --Rowe.

   Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.
   --Pope.

6. To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to show; as, the number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.

7. To devote; to apply; used reflexively, to devote or apply one's self; as, the soldiers give themselves to plunder; also in this sense used very frequently in the past participle; as, the people are given to luxury and pleasure; the youth is given to study.

8. (Logic & Math.) To set forth as a known quantity or a known relation, or as a premise from which to reason; -- used principally in the passive form given.

9. To allow or admit by way of supposition.

   I give not heaven for lost.
   --Mlton.

10. To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.

    I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover.
    --Sheridan.

11. To excite or cause to exist, as a sensation; as, to give offense; to give pleasure or pain.

12. To pledge; as, to give one's word.

13. To cause; to make; -- with the infinitive; as, to give one to understand, to know, etc.

    But there the duke was given to understand That in a gondola were seen together Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.
    --Shak.

14. To afford a view of; as, his window gave the park. To give away, to make over to another; to transfer. Whatsoever we employ in charitable uses during our lives, is given away from ourselves. --Atterbury. To give back, to return; to restore. --Atterbury. To give the bag, to cheat. [Obs.] I fear our ears have given us the bag. --J. Webster. To give birth to.

    1. To bear or bring forth, as a child.

    2. To originate; to give existence to, as an enterprise, idea. To give chase, to pursue. To give ear to. See under Ear. To give forth, to give out; to publish; to tell. --Hayward. To give ground. See under Ground, n. To give the hand, to pledge friendship or faith. To give the hand of, to espouse; to bestow in marriage. To give the head. See under Head, n. To give in.

       1. To abate; to deduct.

       2. To declare; to make known; to announce; to tender; as, to give in one's adhesion to a party. To give the lie to (a person), to tell (him) that he lies. To give line. See under Line. To give off, to emit, as steam, vapor, odor, etc. To give one's self away, to make an inconsiderate surrender of one's cause, an unintentional disclosure of one's purposes, or the like. [Colloq.] To give out.

          1. To utter publicly; to report; to announce or declare.

             One that gives out himself Prince Florizel.
             --Shak.

             Give out you are of Epidamnum.
             --Shak.

          2. To send out; to emit; to distribute; as, a substance gives out steam or odors. To give over.

             1. To yield completely; to quit; to abandon.

             2. To despair of.

    3. To addict, resign, or apply (one's self). The Babylonians had given themselves over to all manner of vice. --Grew. To give place, to withdraw; to yield one's claim. To give points.

       1. In games of skill, to equalize chances by conceding a certain advantage; to allow a handicap.

       2. To give useful suggestions. [Colloq.] To give rein. See under Rein, n. To give the sack. Same as To give the bag. To give and take.

          1. To average gains and losses.

          2. To exchange freely, as blows, sarcasms, etc. To give time (Law), to accord extension or forbearance to a debtor. --Abbott. To give the time of day, to salute one with the compliment appropriate to the hour, as ``good morning.'' ``good evening'', etc. To give tongue, in hunter's phrase, to bark; -- said of dogs. To give up.

             1. To abandon; to surrender. ``Don't give up the ship.''

                He has . . . given up For certain drops of salt, your city Rome.
                --Shak.

             2. To make public; to reveal.

                I'll not state them By giving up their characters.
                --Beau. & Fl.

       3. (Used also reflexively.) To give up the ghost. See under Ghost. To give one's self up, to abandon hope; to despair; to surrender one's self. To give way.

          1. To withdraw; to give place.

          2. To yield to force or pressure; as, the scaffolding gave way.

          3. (Naut.) To begin to row; or to row with increased energy.

    4. (Stock Exchange). To depreciate or decline in value; as, railroad securities gave way two per cent.

       To give way together, to row in time; to keep stroke.

       Syn: To Give, Confer, Grant.

       Usage: To give is the generic word, embracing all the rest. To confer was originally used of persons in power, who gave permanent grants or privileges; as, to confer the order of knighthood; and hence it still denotes the giving of something which might have been withheld; as, to confer a favor. To grant is to give in answer to a petition or request, or to one who is in some way dependent or inferior.