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Dyke vs Gem - What's the difference?

dyke | gem |

As a noun dyke

is or dyke can be (slang|pejorative) a lesbian, particularly one who appears macho or acts in a macho manner this word has been reclaimed, by some, as politically empowering (see usage notes).

dyke

English

(wikipedia dyke)

Etymology 1

Variant of (dike).

Noun

(en noun)
  • (Australia, slang) A toilet.
    • 1977 , In Cubbaroo's dim distant past
    They built a double dyke.
    Back to back in the yard it stood
    An architectural dream in wood''
    — Ian Slack-Smith, ''The Passing of the Twin Seater'', from ''The Cubbaroo Tales'', 1977. Quoted in ''Aussie Humour     , Macmillan, 1988, ISBN 0-7251-0553-4, page 235.
  • (UK) A ditch (rarely also refers to similar natural features, and to one natural valley, Devil's Dyke, Sussex, due to a legend that the devil dug it).
  • (UK, mainly S England) An earthwork consisting of a ditch and a parallel rampart.
  • (British) An embankment to prevent inundation, or a causeway.
  • (UK, mainly Scotland and N England) A mound of earth, stone- or turf-faced, sometimes topped with hedge planting, or a hedge alone, used as a fence.
  • (UK, mainly Scotland and N England) A dry-stone wall usually forming a boundary to a wood, field or garden.
  • (British, geology) A body of once molten igneous rock that was injected into older rocks in a manner that crosses bedding planes.

    • Etymology 2

    ; various theories suggested. Attested US 1942, in Berrey and Van den Bark’s American Thesaurus of Slang''."dike, dyke, n.3" ''The Oxford English Dictionary . 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford UP. 4 Apr. 2000 .
    Synonyms
    * See also
    Derived terms
    * bulldyke

    References

    Anagrams

    * ----

    gem

    English

    (gemstone)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A precious stone, usually of substantial monetary value or prized for its beauty or shine.
    • (Milton)
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03
    • , author=Lee A. Groat , title=Gemstones , volume=100, issue=2, page=128 , magazine= citation , passage=Although there are dozens of different types of gems , among the best known and most important are diamond, ruby and sapphire, emerald and other gem forms of the mineral beryl, chrysoberyl, tanzanite, tsavorite, topaz and jade.}}
  • (figuratively) any precious or highly valued thing or person
    • She's an absolute gem .
  • Anything of small size, or expressed within brief limits, which is regarded as a gem on account of its beauty or value, such as a small picture, a verse of poetry, or an epigram.
    • a gem of wit
  • (obsolete) a gemma or leaf-bud
  • * Denham
    • From the joints of thy prolific stem / A swelling knot is raised called a gem .
  • a type of geometrid moth, Orthonama obstipata
  • (computing) A package containing programs or libraries for the Ruby programming language.

    • Synonyms

    * (precious stone) gemstone, jewel, precious stone; see also

    Verb

  • To adorn with, or as if with, gems.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1827, author=Various, title=The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10,, chapter=, edition= citation
    • , passage=A few bright and beautiful stars gemmed the wide concave of heaven
  • * {{quote-book, year=1872, author=J. Fenimore Cooper, title=The Bravo, chapter=, edition= citation
    • , passage=Above was the firmament, gemmed with worlds, and sublime in immensity. }}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1920, author=John Freeman, title=Poems New and Old, chapter=, edition= citation
    • , passage=The rain Shook from fruit bushes in new showers again As I brushed past, and gemmed the window pane. }}

    See also

    *

    Anagrams

    * * ----