Gehry, Frank Owen
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more CONSECUTIVE games than any other player before him.
He died of a rare muscle disease which is now known as 'Lou
Gehrig's disease'.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Geh·ry, Frank Owen /'geəri/ (1929–) an American ARCHI-
TECT, born in Canada, who is best known for his unusual
buildings covered in metal. His best-known buildings include
the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain, and the
Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Gei·ger count·er /'gaigə ˌkauntər ||–gər/ n an instrument
for finding and measuring RADIOACTIVITY
G8 /ˌdʒiː 'eɪt/ the GROUP OF EIGHT; a group consisting of the
world's eight leading industrial nations, whose government
leaders and financial ministers meet regularly for discussions,
especially about economic matters. Its members are: Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, and Russia: the
G8 summit
Gein, Ed /gi:n, ed/ (1896–1984) a famous murderer from
Wisconsin, in the US. Gein was strongly influenced by his
mother who made him stay away from women. But after his
mother died he began digging up women's bodies from the
CEMETERY and took them to his home. Later he killed two
women. Books and films such as Psycho and The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre were based on his crimes.
gei·sha /'geɪʃə/ also 'geisha girl n a Japanese woman who
is trained in the art of dancing, singing, and providing
entertainment, especially for men
gel¹ /dʒel/ n [C;U] a substance in a state between solid and
liquid; JELLY: hair gel
gel² v –ll– [I] to JELL
gel·a·tine /'dʒeləti:n ||–tɪn/ also gel·a·tin /'dʒelətn ||–tɪn/
AmE —— n [U] a clear substance obtained from boiled animal
bones, used for making jellies (JELLY)
ge·lat·i·nous /dʒɪ'lætʃənəs/ adj especially tech like JELLY; in a
state between solid and liquid
geld /geld/ v [T] to remove the TESTICLES (=sexual organs) of
(certain male animals)
geld·ing /'geldɪŋ/ n an animal, usually a horse, that has
been gelded
Gel·dof, Bob /'geldɒf ||–ɔ:f –ɑ:f/ (1954–) an Irish musician
who was the singer with the group The Boomtown Rats, but
is best known for starting the CHARITY Band Aid in 1984 in
order to collect money for people dying from HUNGER (=not
having enough to eat) in Ethiopia. He organized the Live
Aid concerts in 1985, and persuaded famous musicians to
work together to make the record Do They Know It's Christ-
mas?, the money from which was given to Band Aid.
gel·ig·nite /'dʒelɪgnat/ n [U] a very powerful explosive
Gel·lar, Sa·rah Mi·chelle /'gelər , 'særə mɪ'ʃel/ (1977–) a
US actress known for being sexually attractive and for
appearing in the television programme Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. The programme is about a TEENAGE girl who must
protect her town from VAMPIRES and DEMONS (=evil spirits).
Gel·ler, U·ri /'gelər , 'juəri/ (1946–) an Israeli PSYCHIC
(=someone who claims to be able to make things happen by
using the power of their mind). He often appears on tele-
vision in the UK and seems to be able to bend objects such as
forks and spoons without touching them. Some people,
however, think that this is just a clever trick.
gem /dʒem/ n 1 a precious stone, especially when cut into a
regular shape; jewel 2 a thing or person regarded as espe-
cially good, clever, valuable etc: My secretary is an absolute
gem/a real gem.
Gem·i·ni /'dʒemɪnaɪ ||–ni/ n 1 [U] the third sign of the
ZODIAC, represented by TWINS¹, which some people believe
affects the character and life of people born between May 22
and June 21 2 [C] someone who was born between May 22
and June 21
'Gemini Program, the (1964–66) a US government space
programme which prepared for the APOLLO PROGRAM → see
also MERCURY PROGRAM
gen¹ /dʒen/ n [U(on)] BrE old-fash infml the correct or complete
information: She has all the gen on the soaps.
gen² v –nn– [T] (of a computer system) to form from various
parts (of SOFTWARE) so as to make a whole: This system was
genned in October 1990.
gen up phr v [I (on); T(= gen sbdy. up) (on, about)] BrE infml to (cause
to) learn the facts thoroughly: I must gen up on the route
before we leave. | She's thoroughly genned up about all our
procedures.
Gen. written abbrev. for General
gen·darme /'ʒɒndɑ:m ||'ʒɑ:ndɑ:rm/ n a French policeman
gen·der /'dʒendər/ n [C;U] 1 tech (in grammar) a) the system
(in some languages) of marking words such as nouns, adjec-
tives, and PRONOUNS as being MASCULINE, FEMININE, or NEU-
TER: One of the ways of showing difference of gender in
French is by changing the endings of adjectives. b) any of
these three divisions: German has three genders but French
only has two. 2 tech or euph the division into male or female;
sex: gender differentiation within a species
'gender-bender n slang 1 someone, often a popular singer
or entertainer, who takes on some of the ways of behaving,
dressing etc, of someone of the opposite sex 2 something
that fits onto a male PLUG to make it work as a female, or
onto a female plug to make it work as a male
'gender bias n [C,U] a difference in the way men and
women are treated, when this is unfair
gene /dʒi:n/ n any of several small parts of the material at the
NUCLEUS (=centre) of a cell, that control the development of
all the qualities in a living thing which have been passed on
from its parents
ge·ne·al·o·gy /ˌdʒi:ni'ælədʒi/ n 1 [U] (the study of) the
history of the members of a family from the past to the
present 2 [C] an account of this for one particular family,
especially when shown in a drawing with lines and names
spreading like the branches of a tree → see also FAMILY TREE
——gist n ——gical /ˌdʒi:niə'lɒdʒɪkəl ||–'lɑ:/ adj ——gically
/–kli/ adv
'gene pool n all of the genes available to a named (or the
human) SPECIES
gen·e·ra /'dʒenərə/ pl. of GENUS
gen·er·al¹ /'dʒenərəl/ adj 1 concerning or influencing the
lives of all or most people: There is a general feeling that this
law isn't working properly. | It's not in the general interest to
close railways. (=it's not good for most people) | The general
public (=ordinary people) weren't allowed in to the secret
trial. | Is the staff car park for general use or only for the
senior staff? | Worry about high food prices has now become
fairly general. 2 not limited in range; concerning or includ-
ing most cases, things etc: The school gives a good general
education. (=in many subjects) | a general store (=a small
shop that sells many different types of things) | Rain will
become general overnight. | I don't give interviews as a
general rule (=usually) but in this case I'll make an excep-
tion. 3 not detailed; describing the main things only: Just
give me a general idea of the work. 4 [after n] (as the second
part of an official title) chief: the Postmaster-General | Attor-
ney General | Surgeon General 5 in general usually; in most
cases: In general, people like her. | People in general like her. →
see also GENERALLY
general² n 1 a high rank in the army or airforce → see
TABLE 3 2 a person in command of an army or other
fighting force: Here is the report, General.
General As'sembly, the 1 the group that represents all of