▪ I. gobbet, n.
(ˈgɒbɪt)
Now rare exc. arch. Forms: 4–6 gobet(t, 5–6 gobbet(t, (6 Sc. gobbat, -it), 5– gobbet.
[a. OF. gobet (pl. gobez, gobès), dim. of gobe gob n.1; cf. gobbon.
For the development of sense cf. morsel. In French the etymological sense seems always to have been the prevailing one, whereas in English the more general meaning ‘portion’, ‘lump’, is earlier and commoner than that of ‘mouthful’.]
† 1. a. A part, portion, piece, fragment of anything which is divided, cut, or broken. Obs.
| c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 85 Alle yn smale gobettes he hyt kytte. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xiv. 20 And thei token the relifis of broken gobetis twelue cofyns ful. [So Tyndale and Bible of 1551.] c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 696 He seyde he hadde a gobet of the seyl That seint Peter hadde. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 4508 For by help of þat mayde so fulle of grace His fedrys [= fetters] weron alle to gobetus y-broke. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 66 b/2 And he wente to Saul and cutte of a gobet of his mantel. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 614/1 Ther is nothing but a memorial of his passion in a cup of wyne & a gobbet of cake bread. 1538 Bp. Shaxton Injunct. A iv, Suche thinges as be set forth..vnder the name of holy relyques..Namely..gobbettes of wodde vnder y⊇ name of percelles of the holy crosse [etc.]. 1562 W. Bullein Dial. Soarnes & Chir. 22 a, Looke seriously, that no shiuer nor gobet of bone be lefte in the wounde. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 160 b, Others againe doe cut Garlike in gobbettes. 1610 [see gobonated]. 1684 T. Burnet Th. Earth i. 291 If a rock or mountain cannot..divide it self, either into great gobbets, or into small powder [etc.]. 1847–78 Halliwell s.v., A large block of stone is called a gobbet by workmen. |
b. spec. A piece of raw flesh; mostly pl. in phrases to cut (chop, hack, etc.) in or into gobbets.
| c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 85 Thys lomb toke vp cryst Ihesus..Alle yn smale gobettes he hyt kytte. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxvi. 309 The Prestes.. smyten alle the Body of the dede man in peces..And then the Preestes casten the gobbets of the Flesche [etc.]. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 181 When he his fadirs body efter deth vnherthid And made it in gobbets kitt. 1513 Douglas æneis iv. xi. 32 Mycht I nocht caucht and rent in pecis his cors, Syne swak the gobbatis in the sey. 1544 T. Phaer Regim. Lyfe (1546) L vj, Two or thre yonge cattes, wel chopped in smal gobbettes. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. ii. ii. (1668) 64 Put in good thick gobbets of well fed Beef..also like gobbets of the best Mutton. 1849 Thoreau Week Concord Riv. 235 Small red bodies, little bundles of red tissue—mere gobbets of venison. 1862 Sir H. Taylor St. Clement's Eve i. ii. Wks. 1864 III. 114 We'd slice them into gobbets And fling their flesh to the dogs. |
c. fig.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 100 So hope ich to haue of hym þat is al-myghty A gobet of hus grace. c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 181 And loke, þi schryfte be hole to oo preest, & noȝt to manye; on gobet told to oon preest, an-oþer gobet told to an-oþer preest, is noȝt goodly. 1550 Bale Apol. 73 Now wil I English..your ragged gobbettes taken out of Ambrose glose. 1659 No Sacril. to purchase Ch. Lands 79 Found it most seasonable to cut large gobbets out of their estates. |
d. A piece of a literary or musical work removed from its context; spec. an extract from a text set for translation or comment.
| 1912 Punch 6 Mar. 173/1 He'll gorge you with gobbets of Homer. 1930 D. L. Sayers Strong Poison 160 Playing the most ghastly tripe, sandwiched in with snacks of Mendelssohn and torn-off gobbets of the ‘Unfinished’. |
† 2. A lump or mass. a. In general; chiefly, a lump of metal, esp. gold (cf. gob n.1 1). Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. metr. v. 51 Allas what was he þat first dalf vp þe gobets or þe weyȝtys of gold couered vnder erþe. 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xxii. 18 Grauel, and salt, and a gobet of iren. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf. Manhode ii. xc. (1869) 108 Annoye of lyf that..dulleth the folk, riht as a gobet of led. c 1550 Disc. Common Weal Eng. (1893) 124 Everye tenaunte had his landes, not all in one gobbet in everye feilde. c 1580 J. Jeffere Bugbears i. iii. in Archiv Stud. d. neu. Spr. (1897) XCVIII. 313 For your daughters dowry you must save and spare: it is a good round gobett. |
† b. Of coagulated or solidified substances, as clay, mud, ice, fat, blood, etc. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Rom. ix. 21 Wher a pottere of clay hath not power of the same gobet [L. massa] for to make sothli o vessel into honour [etc.]. 1388 ― Josh. iii. 13 The watris that comen fro aboue schulen stonde togidere in o gobet [1382 glob]. 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 100 She was lyke the deuyls doughter, and on her chyldren hynge moche fylth cloterd in gobettis. 1576 Baker Jewell of Health 181 a, This powder then set in the sunne, untyll it cleaveth togither in gobbettes or bygge pieces. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxlvii. v, Gross icy gobbetts from his hand he flings. 1602 Plat Delightes for Ladies (1605) 54 Keepe your sugar alwaies in good temper in the bason, that it burne not into lumpes or gobbets. 1625 Hart Anat. Ur. ii. iv. 73 He sent me a little..dish almost halfe full of gobbets of..clotted bloud. 1662 J. Chandler Van Helmont's Oriat. 195 After what manner..Aqua vitæ may be truly changed into a yellow gobbet or lump. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 105 Green glass Fritt..is a Composition made of..common Ashes..or else of Gobbets ground to a fine Powder. |
† 3. a. A portion to be swallowed: a large lump or mouthful of food; spec. a ball of flour, etc. used in feeding poultry [= F. gobbe]. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Dan. xiv. 26 Danyel toke picche, and fatnesse, and heris, and seethide to gydre; and he made gobettis, and ȝaue into mouthe of the dragoun. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 732 Of figis grounde and watir temprid, sclendir Gobbettis yef thy gees. 1600 Holland Livy (1609) Index ii. 1424 When they [chickens] pecked either corne, or gobbets called offæ. 1657 Trapp Comm. Job xx. 15 Like as Camels are fed by casting gobbets into their mouth. 1739 ‘R. Bull’ tr. Dedekindus' Grobianus 130 Large Gobbets choak the tender Fowls. 1814 Lamb Let. to Coleridge 26 Aug., May it burst his pericranium, as the gobbets of fat and turpentine..did that old dragon in the Apocrypha! |
| fig. 1634 Sanderson Serm. II. 291 These gobbets are but Satans baits: which when we swallow, we swallow a hook with them. 1849 Lowell Biglow P. Poet. Wks. (1879) 189/1 Doubtless that they might be hereafter incapacitated for swallowing the filthy gobbets of Mahound. 1862 Sat. Rev. 6 Sept. 275 One dwells with lingering delight on these unctuous and mouth-filling gobbets. |
† b. attrib. quasi-adj.
| 1714 Orig. Canto Spencer xxi, For this their Office good, the Sorcerer Forth from a Wallet which beside him hung, Threw many gobbet Offals of good Cheer. |
c. A lump of half-digested food. Also fig.
| 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 67 b, If a gentleman..should vomite..and..caste oute gobbets. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 20. 1594 J. Dickenson Arisbas (1878) 75 From depth of poisnous mawe the monster fierce Did belch foule gobbets. c 1645 Howell Lett. I. i. xxvii, They would make us believe..that ætna in times pass'd hath eructated such huge gobbets of fire, that [etc.]. 1700 Addison 3rd æneid Misc. Wks. 1726 I. 61 Belching raw gobbets from his maw, o'ercharged. 1866 Conington tr. æneid iii. 96 Ejecting from his monstrous maw Wine mixed with gore and gobbets raw. |
▪ II. † gobbet, v. Obs.
Also 4–5 gobete, 5 gobette.
[a. OF. gobeter to swallow as a morsel or gobbet (mod.F. gobeter to point a wall), but in some examples prob. f. gobbet n.]
1. trans. To swallow as a gobbet or in gobbets. Also with down, up.
| 1607 C. Lever Crucifix cix. (Grosart) 51 To gobbet up a supper at a bit. 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal 275 They gobbet downe his flesh, his bones they gnaw, And are most highly pleas'd to eate him raw. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables iv. (1714) 4 Down comes a Kite Powdering upon them in the Interim, and Gobbets up both together. |
2. To divide into portions or gobbets; given by some writers (following the Book of St. Albans) as the correct term for cutting up a trout.
| c 1450 Two Cookery-bks. ii. 112 Nym lings, turbot, and elys, & gobete hem in mosselys. 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij b, A Trought gobettid. 1670 Covel Diary (Hakluyt Soc.) 262 Minc't meat, gobbeted in vine leaves. 1726 Gentl. Angler 149 To Gobbet a Trout, i.e. To cut it up. |