DCHP-2

gob DCHP-2 (May 2016)

• 1 n.

  spittle.

  Type: 2. Preservation — Gob, likely preserved from British English, is synonymous with 'spittle'. EDD (s.v. "gob" (3)) defines the term as 'a quantity of spittle or expectoration'. Canada's extensive 19th-century settlement from Britain has resulted in a number of such lexical preservations.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "gob (2)" (2a), which is marked "Cdn & Brit.".

  • The term is much older in Canadian English than the quotations suggest, yet as an originally non-genteel, vulgar term it is rather rare in writing. Gob can refer to any soft substance (see DARE n1.1.a), which is a meaning that is very prevalent in the US. In phrases such as "spitting gobs of banana" it is unclear which meaning, saliva or soft banana substance, prevails.

• 2 v.

  to spit.

  Type: 2. Preservation — As with meaning 1, gob in its verbal form is preserved from British English, where it is defined as 'to spit, expectorate' (EDD, s.v. "gob" (8)).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "gob²" (v), which is marked "Cdn & Brit.".