Where does the expression "runs the gambit" come from, and what is its definition?

Answer 1

Actually, the word is a COMBINATION of GAMMA + UT, and was used as a word for "the whole musical scale"

(Compare this way of naming with our using "alphabet" [Greek 'alpha + beta') and "ABC's" to indicate the WHOLE list of letters.)

"UT", later replaced by "DO" (in do-re-mi) was part of a mnemonic device developed by Guido d'Arezzo.

The first note in the scale was already called "A". The notes went up from their to "G". Guido decided to specify the LOWEST "G" (the one below the 'first A' or "UT") by using the equivalent Greek latter "gamma".

By the way, "ut-re-mi....." came from the words of syllables that went up the scale in a Latin hymn for the feast day of John the Baptist. The Latin runs as follows:

"UT queant laxis REsonare fibris
MIra gestorum FAamuli tuorum
SOLve polluti LAbii reatum, Sancte Iohannes"

(hence "ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la" change of "ut" to "do" and the additions of "si/ti" came later)

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gamut
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gamut

For a more detailed explanation of the scale and names for the notes (and a rough translation of that Latin line above!), see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1339337

Answer 2

Run The Gambit

Answer 3

That makes sense. I thought it was gamit, or gamut, but couldn't find any useful info on-line, so I thought I'd ask. I got more returns spelling it gambit, which just means that other people aren't clear on its spelling or origin either.

I understood it to mean something that covers the whole range of a subject, or extremely varied in diversity.

Thanks for clearing that up. I hate using expressions without knowing what they mean exactly, or how to spell them correctly.

Now the real question is, why doesn't Yahoo Answers let me respond or add an answer to my own question unless I log in as another user?

Answer 4

Meaning Fall just short of a successful outcome and get nothing for your efforts. Origin The phrase, and its variant 'nice try, but no cigar', are of US origin and date from the mid-20th century. Fairground stalls gave out cigars as prizes, and this is the most likely source, although there's no definitive evidence to prove that. It is first recorded in print in Sayre and Twist's publishing of the script of the 1935 film version of Annie Oakley: "Close, Colonel, but no cigar!" It appears in U. S. newspapers widely from around 1949 onwards. For example, a story from The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, November 1949, where The Lima House Cigar and Sporting Goods Store narrowly avoided being burned down in a fire, was titled 'Close But No Cigar'.

Answer 5

Run The Gamut Definition

Answer 6

I think you have mixed apples and oranges. The expression I think you want is "Run the gamut" . A reference to an old game played in many societies (American Indian)that has one person trying to run a distance between two lines of people who are armed with sticks or weapons. another related saying is 'From soup to nuts' or from
A to Z. They just mean covering all know eventualities.

Answer 7

RE:
Where does the expression "runs the gambit" come from, and what is its definition?

Answer 8

Yes, it does mean to cover the whole range.
Its origin is the Greek letter gamma (G), which was the lowest note of the medieval musical scale.