gift
n.（名词）Something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation.礼物，赠品：主动给予并不要报偿的东西The act, right, or power of giving.赠予，赠予权A talent, an endowment, an aptitude, or a bent.天才，天资，才能，爱好v.tr.（及物动词）gift.ed,gift.ing,gifts Usage Problem To present with a gift.【用法疑难】 赠送礼物To endow with.赋与
来源：Middle English 中古英语 from Old Norse * see ghabh- 源自 古斯堪的纳维亚语 *参见 ghabh-
Gift has a long history of use as a verb meaning .to present as a gift; endow.. The practice appears to provide a useful distinction,in as much as the verbgive can sometimes be ambiguous between .to transfer physical possession. and .to transfer ownership.; and in fact a verb analogous togift is found in a number of other languages (for example, Italianregalare, .to give as a gift,. from regalo, .gift, present.). Unfortunately the verbal use ofgift in Modern English is irredeemably tainted (as is its derivative giftable ) by its association with the language of advertising and publicity (as in Gift her with this copper warming plate ). In an earlier surveythe usage was rejected by a large majority of the Usage Panel.Where clarity is required, substitutessuch asgive as a gift, bestow, or donate are recommended. · The phrasefree gift should, of course, be considered redundant. But the increasing currency of its use is indicative mainly of the degree to which the wordgift itself has been expropriated by advertisers to refer to merchandise offerings to which an obligation is attached—if not a direct price, then taking a test drive,sitting through a sales pitch, or enrolling in a book club.It is perhaps to this use ofgift, rather than to the redundancy free gift, that critics ought most strenuously to object. Gift 作动词意为.赠送礼物，赠予.的用法已有很长的历史了， 这种惯用法的出现提供了有用的区分，因为作为动词give 可能有时会在.传递有形财产.和.传递所有权.之间有模棱两可的意思； 但事实上类似于gift 的词是在其它语言上建立起来的 （如意大利语的regalare .作为礼物给予.来自于 regalo .礼物，礼品.）。 不幸的是gift 在现代英语中动词性质的用法由于广告语言和公众语言的联系而不可挽回地被污染了（如它的派生词 giftable ）（又如在 给她这个铜暖盘作为礼物 ）。 在较早的一个调查中，这种用法被大部分的用法专题使用小组的成员所反对。为了在此处的用法更清晰的一些替代词，如give as a gift, bestow 或 donate 被采纳了。 词组free gift 自然是应该被认为是多余的， 但是这种用法的迅速使用主要表示了gift 这个词被广告商所侵用而用来指提供商品优惠是一种附加的义务——如果不是直接的价格， 那么就参加一次竞赛活动，等待商品广告宣传或在一个读书俱乐部中报名登记。也许gift 的这种用法应该比冗余的 free gift 更为批评家所坚决反对
