Gist
Gist (jist) , noun
[Old French giste abode, lodgings, French gîte, from gésir to lie, Latin jacēre, prop., to be thrown, hence, to lie, from jacere to throw. In the second sense from Old French gist, French gît, 3d pers. sing. ind. of gésir to lie, used in a proverb, French, c'est là que gît le lièvre, it is there that the hare lies, i. e., that is the point, the difficulty. See Jet a shooting forth, and compare Agist, Joist, n., Gest a stage in traveling.]
1.
A resting place. [Obsolete]
These quails have their set gists; to wit, ordinary resting and baiting places.
2.
The main point, as of a question; the point on which an action rests; the pith of a matter; as, the gist of a question.