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Webster 1913 Edition

Guess

Guess

(gĕs)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Guessed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Guessing
.]
[OE.
gessen
; akin to Dan.
gisse
, Sw.
gissa
, Icel.
gizha
, D.
gissen
: cf. Dan.
giette
to guess, Icel.
geta
to get, to guess. Probably originally, to try to get, and akin to E.
get
. See
Get
.]
1.
To form an opinion concerning, without knowledge or means of knowledge; to judge of at random; to conjecture.
First, if thou canst, the harder reason
guess
.
Pope.
2.
To judge or form an opinion of, from reasons that seem preponderating, but are not decisive.
We may then
guess
how far it was from his design.
Milton.
Of ambushed men, whom, by their arms and dress,
To be Taxallan enemies I
guess
.
Dryden.
3.
To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly;
as, he who
guesses
the riddle shall have the ring; he has
guessed
my designs
.
4.
To hit upon or reproduce by memory.
[Obs.]
Tell me their words, as near as thou canst
guess
them.
Shakespeare
5.
To think; to suppose; to believe; to imagine; – followed by an objective clause.
Not all together; better far, I
guess
,
That we do make our entrance several ways.
Shakespeare
Syn. – To conjecture; suppose; surmise; suspect; divine; think; imagine; fancy.
–
To Guess
,
Think
,
Reckon
. Guess denotes, to attempt to hit upon at random;
as, to
guess
at a thing when blindfolded; to conjecture or form an opinion on hidden or very slight grounds: as, to
guess
a riddle; to
guess
out the meaning of an obscure passage
. The use of the word
guess
for think or believe, although abundantly sanctioned by good English authors, is now regarded as antiquated and objectionable by discriminating writers. It may properly be branded as a colloguialism and vulgarism when used respecting a purpose or a thing about which there is no uncertainty;
as, I
guess
I ’ll go to bed
.

Guess

,
Verb.
I.
To make a guess or random judgment; to conjecture; – with at, about, etc.
This is the place, as well as I may
guess
.
Milton.

Guess

,
Noun.
An opinion as to anything, formed without sufficient or decisive evidence or grounds; an attempt to hit upon the truth by a random judgment; a conjecture; a surmise.
A poet must confess
His art 's like physic – but a happy
guess
.
Dryden.

Webster 1828 Edition

Guess

GUESS

,
Verb.
T.
ges.
[L. conjicio; Eng. to gush.]
1.
To conjecture; to form an opinion without certain principles or means of knowledge; to judge at random, either of a present unknown fact, or of a future fact.
First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess.
2.
To judge or form an opinion from some reasons that render a thing probable, but fall short of sufficient evidence. From slight circumstances or occasional expressions, we guess an author's meaning.
3.
To hit upon by accident.

GUESS

,
Verb.
I.
To conjecture; to judge at random. We do not know which road to take, but we must guess at it.

GUESS

,
Noun.
Conjecture; judgment without any certain evidence or grounds.
A poet must confess
His arts like physic,but a happy guess.

Definition 2024

guess

guess

English

Verb

guess ‎(third-person singular simple present guesses, present participle guessing, simple past and past participle guessed)

  1. To reach a partly (or totally) unqualified conclusion.
  2. To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly.
    He who guesses the riddle shall have the ring.
  3. (chiefly US) to suppose (introducing a proposition of uncertain plausibility).
    That album is quite hard to find, but I guess you could try ordering it online.
    • Shakespeare
      Not all together; better far, I guess, / That we do make our entrance several ways.
    • Alexander Pope
      But in known images of life I guess / The labour greater.
    • 1914–1915, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Valley of Fear:
      "Are you a member of the union?"
      "Sure."
      "Then you'll get your job, I guess. Have you any friends?"
  4. (obsolete) To hit upon or reproduce by memory.
    • Shakespeare
      Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English gesse. Cognate with Dutch gis ‎(“a guess”).

Noun

guess ‎(plural guesses)

  1. A prediction about the outcome of something, typically made without factual evidence or support.
    If you don't know the answer, take a guess.‎
    • 1907, L. Frank Baum, Ozma of Oz:
      "But I shall have eleven guesses," answered Ozma. "Surely I ought to guess one object in eleven correctly; and, if I do, I shall rescue one of the royal family and be safe myself. Then the rest of you may attempt it, and soon we shall free all those who are enslaved."
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

External links

  • guess in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • guess in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Etymology

From Middle English gessen, probably of Scandinavian origin, from Old Danish getse, gitse, getsa ‎(“to guess”), from Old Norse *getsa, *gitsa, from Proto-Germanic *gitisōną ‎(“to guess”), from Proto-Germanic *getaną ‎(“to get”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‎(“to take, seize”). Cognate with Danish gisse ‎(“to guess”), Swedish gissa ‎(“to guess”), Saterland Frisian gisje ‎(“to guess”), Dutch gissen ‎(“to guess”), Low German gissen ‎(“to guess”). Related also to Icelandic giska ("to guess"; from Proto-Germanic *gitiskōną). Compare also Russian гада́ть ‎(gadátʹ, “to conjecture, guess, divine”), Albanian gjëzë ‎(“riddle”) from gjej ‎(“find, recover, obtain”). More at get.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: gĕs, IPA(key): /ɡɛs/
  • Rhymes: -ɛs

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