Encyclopaedia Britannica [5, 2 ed.]

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ENCYCLOPJEBIA BRITANNICA; OR,

A

DICTIONARY O F

ARTS,

SCIENCES,

&c.

On a PLAN entirely NEW: BY

THE

DIFFERENT

WHICH,

SCIENCES

Are digefted into the

TREATISES

FORM

AND

ARTS

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SYSTEMS,

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NATURAL

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ECCLESIASTICAL, &C.

TOGETHER WITH

A

DESCRIPTION of all the Countries, Cities, principal Mountains, Seas, Rivers, 6c. throughout the World; a General HISTORY, Ancient and Modern, of the different Empires, Kingdoms, and States; and an Account of the LIVES of the mofl Eminent Perfons in every Nation, from the earlieft ages down to the prefent times.

THE WHOLE COMPILED FROM « wet Jr™1™08 °F THE BEST AUTHORS> IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES; THE MOST APPROVED DICTIONARIES, GENERAL OF PARTICULAR THE OF TRANSACTIONS, JOURNALS, MEMOIRS, OF LEARNED SOCIETIES, BOTH SCIENCE AT HOMEASAND ABROAD; THEBRANCHES; MS. LECTURES EMINENT PROFESSORS ON AND DIFFERENT SCIENCES; AND A VARIETY OF ORIGINAL MATERIALS, FURNISHED BY AN EXTENSIVE CORRESPONDENCE.

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EDINBURGH: and Co. W. GORDON, J. BELL, J. DICKSON, C. ELLIOT, W. CLi ESH, A. BE LL, J. HUTTON, and C. MA c FA RQJJ H AR. MDCCLXXX.

BALFOUR

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CREECH,

A

NEW

Diftionary of Arts, Sciences, &c.

G,

GAB THE feventh letter, and fifth confonant, of our V-T? alphabet; tho’ in the alphabets of all the oriental languages, the Hebrew, Phoenician, Chaldee, Syriac, Samaritan, Arabic, and even Greek, G is the third letter. See LETTER. The Hebrews call xlghiwlel, orgimel, q. d. “ camel;” by reafon it refembles the neck of that animal ; and the fame appellation it bears in the Samaritan, Phoenician, and Chaldee : in the Syriac it is called ga7uel, in Arabic g:iw, and in Greek gamma. The letter G is of the mute kind, and cannot be any way founded without the help of a vowel. It is formed by the reflexion of the air againft the palate, made by the tongue as the air pafies out of the throat: which Martianus Capella exprefles thus, G fpiritus cum palate ; fo that G is a palatal letter. The form of our G is taken from that of the Latins, who borrowed.it from the Greeks ; the Latin G being certainly a corruption of the Greek gamma, r, as might eafily be (hewn, had our Printers all thecharafters and forms of this letter which we meet withal in the Greek and Latin MSS thro’ which the letter pafled from r to G. In Englifh it has a hard and foft found : hard, as in the worfe gatue, gun, &c.; and foft, as in the words gejlure, giant, &c. At the end of words, gh is pronounced like ff, as in the words rough, tough, &c. The letter g is alfo ufed in many words where the found is not perceived, as \x\fign, reign, &c. As a numeral, G was anciently ufed to denote 400; and with a dalh over it thus G> 40,000. In mufic, it is the charafter or mark of the treble cleff; and from its being placed at the head, or marking the firft found, in Guido’s fcale, the whole fcale took the name gamut. See the articles CLEFF and GAMUT. As an abbreviature, G. (lands for Gains, Gdlius, gens, .genius, &c. G. G. for gemina, gejfit, gejjerunt, &c. G. C. for genio civitatis or Cafar is. G. L. for Gains libertus, or genio loci. G. V. S. for genio urbis facrum. G. B. for genio bono. And G. T. for genio tutelari. GABARA, or GABBARA, in antiquity, the dead bodies which the Egyptians embalmed, and kept in their houfes, efpecially thofe of fuch of their friends as

GAB died with the reputation of great piety and holinefs, or as martyrs. See EMBALMING, and MUMMY. GABEL, ( Gabella, Gablurn, Gablagium), in French Gabelle, i. e. Vettigal, hath the fame lignification amongthe ancient Englifli writers, x\\z\. gabelle hath in France- It is a tax ; but hath been varioufly ufed, as for a rent, cuftom, fervice, &e. And where it was a payment of rent, thofe who payed it were termed gq^ blatores. When the word gabel was formerly mentioned without any addition to it, it fignified the tax on fait, though afterwards it was applied to all other taxes. GABIONS, in fortification, bafkets made of oziertwigs, of a cylindrical form, fix feet high, and four wide; which, being filled with earth, ferve as a {belter from the enemy’s fire. GABLE, or GABLE-is/n/ of a houfe (from gaval, Welfii), is the upright triangular end, from the cornice or eaves, to the top of the houfe. GABRIEL, the name of one of the principal angels in heaven. It fignifies the Jlrength of God. There are a few events, in which this exalted being was concerned, recorded in feripture. He was fent to the prophet Daniel, to explain to him the vifion of the ram and goat, and the myftery of thefeventy weeks, which had been revealed to him. He was fent to Zecharias, to declare to him the future birth of John the baptift. Six months after, he was fent to Nazareth, to the Virgin Mary, to warn her of the birth of Jefus Chrift. The Oriefitaluls add feveaal particulars to what the feriptures inform us concerning the angel Gabriel. The Mahometans call him the faithfulfpirit; and the Perfians, by way of metaphor, the peacock of heaven. We read, in the fecond chapter of the Koran, that nuhofo- • ever is an enemy to Gabriel, fall be confounded. It was Gabriel, they believe, who brought to Mahomet, their falfe prophet, the revelations which he publiftred; and it was he, who conducted him to heaven mounted upon the animal Borak. GAD, among miners, a fmall punch of iron, with a long wooden handle, ufed to break up the ore. One of the miners holds this in his hand, directing the point to a proper place, while the other drives it into the vein, by linking it with a fledge-hammer. J8 E 2

GAD-

Ga'nel j| Gj