GOUGING. In ship-building (see [Snail-creeping]). Also, a cruel practice in one or two American states, now extremely rare, in which a man's eye was squeezed out by his rival's thumb-nail, the fingers being entangled in the hair for the necessary purchase.
GOUGINGS. A synonym of [gudgeons] (which see).
GOUKMEY. One of the names in the north for the gray gurnard.
GOULET. Any narrow entrance to a creek or harbour, as the goletta at Tunis.
GOURIES. The garbage of salmon.
GOVERNMENT. Generally means the constitution of our country as exercised under the legislature of king or queen, lords, and commons.
GOVERNOR. An officer placed by royal commission in command of a fortress, town, or colony. Governors are also appointed to institutions, hospitals, and other establishments. Also, a revolving bifurcate pendulum, with two iron balls, whose centrifugal divergence equalizes the motion of the steam-engine.
GOW. An old northern term for the gull.
GOWDIE. The Callionymus lyra, dragonet, or chanticleer.
GOWK. The cuckoo; but also used for a stupid, good-natured fellow.