GIST

kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty-gritty

(noun) the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; “the gist of the prosecutor’s argument”; “the heart and soul of the Republican Party”; “the nub of the story”

effect, essence, burden, core, gist

(noun) the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

gist (plural gists)

The most essential part; the main idea or substance (of a longer or more complicated matter); the crux of a matter; the pith.

(legal, dated) The essential ground for action in a suit, without which there is no cause of action.

(obsolete) Resting place (especially of animals), lodging.

Synonyms

• (most essential part): crux, quintessence; See also gist

• (essential ground for action): gravamen

• (resting place): lair

Verb

gist (third-person singular simple present gists, present participle gisting, simple past and past participle gisted)

To summarize, to extract and present the most important parts of.

Anagrams

• GTis, gits, stig, tigs

Source: Wiktionary

Gist, n. Etym: [OF. giste abode, lodgings, F. gîte, fr. gésir to lie, L. jac, 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.]

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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition