/ˈɡæm.ət/, /ˈɡæm.ɪt/
Origin1520s, original sense “lowest note of musical scale”, contraction of Medieval Latin gamma ut, from gamma (“Greek letter, corresponding to the musical note G”) + ut (“first solfège syllable, now replaced by do”). In modern terms, “G do” – the first note of the G scale. Meaning later extended to mean all the notes of a scale, and then more generally any complete range.
- A (normally) complete range.
“I must begin with rudiments of Art / To teach you gamoth in a briefer sort, - -
Bian. Why, I am past my gamouth long agoe.”
“The entire gamut of the view's changes should have been known to her; its winter aspect, spring, summer and autumn; how storms came up from the sea; how the moors shuddered and brightened as the cloud”
“1933?, Dorothy Parker, review of Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway play The Lake
She delivered a striking performance that ran the gamut of emotions, from A to B.”
- All the notes in a musical scale.
- All the colours that can be presented by a device such as a monitor or printer.
Formsgamuts(plural)