gnast

G2N1A1S1T1

noun

A spark; a dying or dead spark, as of a snuffed candle.

OriginMiddle English gnast ← Old English *gnāst ← Proto-Germanic *gahnaistô →
Scrabble 6
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

gnast1

noungnast (plural gnasts)

plural gnasts

  1. obsoleteA spark; a dying or dead spark, as of a snuffed candle.

gnast2

verbgnast (third-person singular simple present gnasts, present participle gnasting, simple past and past participle gnasted)

present singular third person gnasts · participle present gnasting · participle past gnasted · past gnasted

  1. ambitransitiveobsoleteTo gnash.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
spark

Origin

gnast · noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*hnaistô“spark”
  2. Proto-Germanic*ga-
  3. Proto-Germanic*gahnaistô“spark”
  4. Old English*gnāst“spark”
  5. Middle Englishgnast
  6. Englishgnast

From Middle English gnast, knast, from Old English *gnāst (“spark”) (attested in fȳrgnāst (“spark of fire”)), from Proto-Germanic *gahnaistô (“spark”), from Proto-Germanic *ga- + Proto-Germanic *hnaistô (“spark”), perhaps from the ultimate (imitative) source of German knistern (“to crackle”). Cognate with German dialectal Ganster (“spark”), Danish gnist (“spark, sparkle”), Swedish gnista (“spark”), Icelandic gneisti, neisti (“spark”), German Gneis (“spark, gneiss”) (whence English gneiss).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

gnast · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʰneydh-
  2. Proto-Germanic*gnaistijaną
  3. Old English*gnǣstan
  4. Middle Englishgnasten
  5. Englishgnast

From Middle English gnasten, gnaisten, from Old English *gnǣstan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaistijaną, causative of *gnīstijaną (“to grind”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰneydh-, *gʰneyd- (“to gnaw, scratch, rub”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian knasterje (“to gnash”), German Low German gnatschen (“to knead, gnash”), German knastern (“to gnash”), Icelandic gnesta (“to crack”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with gnast

lastpastaskedcastpassedvastblastmasthastoutcastclassedprecastavastgastrecastchastebastaghastgasseddowncastkasticonoclastrepastclast
All rhymes →

Anagrams

angststangTsang
Cite this entry
APA

gnast. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gnast

MLA

“gnast.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gnast. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gnast,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gnast.

Source: gnast on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.