gist Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
    essence; effect; burden; core.
  2. noun the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
    kernel; substance; center; centre; nitty-gritty; essence; sum; meat; heart; pith; nub; heart and soul; core; inwardness; marrow.
    • the gist of the prosecutor's argument
    • the heart and soul of the Republican Party
    • the nub of the story

WordNet

Gist noun
Etymology
OF. giste abode, lodgings, F. gîte, fr. gésir to lie, L. jacre, prop., to be thrown, hence, to lie, fr. jacre to throw. In the second sense fr. OF. gist, F. gît, 3d pers. sing. ind. of gésir to lie, used in a proverb, F., c'est là que gît le lièvre, it is there that the hare lies, i. e., that is the point, the difficulty. See Jet a shooting forth, and cf. Agist, Joist, n., Gest a stage in traveling.
Definitions
  1. A resting place. Obs.
    These quails have their set gists; to wit, ordinary resting and baiting places. Holland.
  2. The main point, as of a question; the point on which an action rests; the pith of a matter; as, the gist of a question.

Webster 1913