Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

   {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}.
       (a) To bear or bring forth, as a child.
       (b) 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}.
       (a) To abate; to deduct.
       (b) 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}.
       (a) To utter publicly; to report; to announce or declare.

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

                 Give out you are of Epidamnum.   --Shak.
       (b) To send out; to emit; to distribute; as, a substance
           gives out steam or odors.

   {To give over}.
       (a) To yield completely; to quit; to abandon.
       (b) To despair of.
       (c) 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}.
       (a) In games of skill, to equalize chances by conceding a
           certain advantage; to allow a handicap.
       (b) 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}.
       (a) To average gains and losses.
       (b) 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}.
       (a) To abandon; to surrender. ``Don't give up the ship.''

                 He has . . . given up For certain drops of
                 salt, your city Rome.            --Shak.
       (b) To make public; to reveal.

                 I'll not state them By giving up their
                 characters.                      --Beau. & Fl.
       (c) (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}.
       (a) To withdraw; to give place.
       (b) To yield to force or pressure; as, the scaffolding
           gave way.
       (c) (Naut.) To begin to row; or to row with increased
           energy.
       (d) (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.