Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift

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Dictionary: G

GalbetLill; Admiral of the Realm; title held by Skyresh Bolgolam; "far back" [Clark]
Gay, John (1685-1732) English playright and poet, most well-known for The Beggar's Opera (1728); Swift's friend, colleague, correspondent and member of the Scriblerus Club. Gay was instrumental in arranging the pseudonymous publication of the Travels.
George I
 (1660-1727); king of England, 1714-27; first in the House of Hanover, elector of Hanover (Germany); succeeded Anne. Keeping his ties to Germany, in fact never learning to speak English, George I was unpopular. Under George I, the Whigs returned to power and the Tory leadership was persecuted. See also: As king at the time of the writing and publication of the Travels, George I is satirized throughout.

Emperor of Lilliput:

  • "his Majesty has determined to make use of only low Heels in the Administration of the Government;... his Majesty's Imperial Heels are lower at least by a Drurr than any of his Court" (I:4)
George II
 (1683-1760); king of England, 1727-60; prince of Wales at the time the Travels was published. While still prince, George opposed his father's administration, giving hope to the Tories that they might return to power at his ascension. (see entry at Biography.com)
  • Appears in the first voyage as Lilliput's "Imperial Highness, the Heir to the Crown" who has "some Tendency towards the High-Heels; at least we can plainly discover one of his Heels higher than the other, which gives him a Hobble in his Gait." (I:4)
Lady Giffard1638-1722; sister of William Temple, Swift's employer and mentor; a widow, she was a member of Temple's household; there was friction between Swift and Giffard over publication of Temple's memoirs; Giffard tried to stop Swift, who was Temple's literary executor, from publishing portions; when Swift proceeded against her wishes, Giffard sought the help of the Duchess of Somerset, who used her influence against Swift.
GlanguenstaldLugg.; "a Royal Port to the South-West" of Luggnagg (III:11;4); Clark translates as "London stairs";
glassLilliputians are unfamiliar with glass, which they describe as "transparent Metal" (I:2;7)
Glimigrim Lill.; type of wine; "grimy grease" [Clark]; having drunk a lot of it earlier one evening, Gulliver is able to extinguish a fire that threatens the Imperial palace. (I:5;9)
Glonglung Brobd.; measure of distance, about 18 English miles; "runnel" Clark
  • It is in Length three Glonglungs (which make about fifty four English Miles) (II:4;3)
Glubbdubdrib Laputa; island "about five Leagues off to the South-West" (III:7;2) of Balnibarbi; "as I can interpret the Word, signifies the Island of Sorcerers or Magicians" (III:7;3);. the Governor of the island is a sorcerer, able to call up the dead and require their attendance; Gulliver visits the island while awaiting a ship to Luggnagg and is entertained by a parade of characters from history; translates as "Dublin" [Clark]
glumgluff Lill.; unit of measure, approx. 1 English inch ; "more dirt" "grime dirt" "mire dirt" [Clark]
  • "seventy Glumgluffs deep, which is about six Foot of European Measure" (I:5;1)
Glumdalclitch Brobd.; young farm girl who becomes Gulliver's nurse during his stay in Brobdingnag; "clutch doll grim" per Clark;
  • "My Mistress had a Daughter of nine Years old... I called her my Glumdalclitch, or little Nurse:" (II:2;1)
Glumglum variant of Clumglum
Gnnayh(Houy); a Bird of Prey; perhaps derived from "raven" [Clark]
  • "yet he no more blamed them for their odious Qualities, than he did a Gnnayh (a Bird of Prey) for its Cruelty" (IV:5;9)
Lord GodolphinSidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin 1645-1712; Whig politician holding several ministerial positions through a number of reigns including Charles II, James II, William and Mary, and eventually Anne; as Lord Treasurer under Anne he was the de facto chief minister, and with Marlborough, lead the government until he was replaced in 1710 by Robert Harley (Oxford); Gulliver mentions him in "A Letter from Capt. Gulliver, to his Cousin Sympson"
"she did govern by a chief Minister; nay, even by two successively; the first whereof was the Lord of Godolphin" (Letter;1)
Golbasto Momaren Evlame Gurdilo Shefin Mully Ully Gueapparently title of Emperor of Lilliput (I:3;9) ; untranslated by Gulliver; "Go sillily in shit or dirt, ever as some are in vast odor!" or "Die sillily shittin' or dirty, evil as some more in fast anger!" [Clark];
"greater Work" Gulliver twice curtails his description of Lilliput, mentioning plans for covering the material elsewhere;
  • "But I shall not anticipate the Reader with farther Descriptions of this kind, because I reserve them for a greater Work, which is now almost ready for the Press...(I:4;3)
  • "ALTHOUGH I intend to leave the Description of this Empire to a particular Treatise, yet in the mean time I am content to gratify the curious Reader with some general Ideas." (I:6;1)
On one hand this is a nice device for avoiding more tedious details and bolsters Gulliver's credibility. According to Maurice Johnson et al. (Gulliver's Travels and Japan: A New Reading) this also may have been a reference to Kaempfer's History of the Empire of Japan, a possible source for Gulliver published in England the same year.
GreenwichLondon borough; site of the Royal Observatory from its founding in 1675 until 1946. Gulliver grazes the survivng Lilliputian cattle "in a Bowling-Green at Greenwich" (I:8;1)
GrildrigBrobd.; name given to Gulliver by Glumdalclitch, his nurse in Brobdingnag; Clark translates as "girl-thing" (i.e. a doll)
  • She gave me the Name of Grildrig, which the Family took up, and afterwards the whole Kingdom. The Word imports what the Latins call Nanunculus, the Italians Homunceletino, and the English Mannikin. (II:2;1)
GrultrudBrobd.; cryer; "dirt rul'd" [Clark]
  • "he hired the Grultrud, or Cryer, to give Notice through the Town" (II:2;3)
Gulliverfamily name of the author/narrator of Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World(see Gulliver, Lemuel); Sympson writes "I have heard him say his Family came from Oxfordshire; to confirm which, I have observed in the Church-Yard at Banbury, in that County, several Tombs and Monuments of the Gullivers." (Publisher; 2)
Gulliver, Lemuelfictional author, narrator and central character of Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World (also known as Gulliver's Travels); according to Clark, the name translates as "Rumor Gullible"; identified by name on the title page only:

by Lemuel Gulliver, first a Surgeon,
then a Captain of several Ships

Most of what is know about Gulliver's family and background is revealed in the first several paragraphs of the book, with sporadic updates on his return from his travels.

  • Family and Background
    • father; not named;has small estate in Nottinghamshire; (I:1;1)
    • mother; never mentioned;
    • siblings; third of five sons (I:1;1); otherwise not mentioned;
    • wife: "Mary Burton, second Daughter to Mr. Edmund Burton" (I:1;2)
    • children:
      • "My Son Johnny, named so after his Uncle, was at the Grammar School, and a towardly Child" (I:8;11)
      • "My Daughter Betty (who is now well married, and has Children) was then at her Needle-work." (I:8;11)
      • "I left my poor Wife big with Child" (IV:1;1)
    • Uncle John; relationship not explained; assists author with funds to attend school in Leiden (I:1;1); "eldest Uncle John" dies during Gulliver's voyage to Lilliput , leaving "me an Estate in Land, near Epping" and also, possibly "a long Lease of the Black-Bull in Fetter-Lane" (I:8;11)
  • Education
    • attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge (I:1)
    • apprenticed to Mr. James Bates, a surgeon, for four years (I:1)
    • studied "Physick" (medicine) in Leiden, Netherlands, for two years seven months (I:1)
    • languages:
      • "learning their Language, wherein I had a great Facility by the Strength of my Memory." (I:1)
      • "I spoke to them in as many Languages as I had the least smattering of, which were High and Low Dutch, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Lingua Franca" (I:2)
      • "in about three Weeks I made a great progress in learning their Language;" (I:2)
  • Physical Characteristics
    • "...my Hair, which was long and thick..." (I:1)
    • uses spectacles for "...weakness of mine Eyes..." (I:2)
gunpowder none of the lands Gulliver visits have discovered gunpowder;
  • he fires his pistol to demonstrate its function to the Lilliputians;
  • when Gulliver offers the secret to the Brobdingnagians, he is warned never to mention it again on pain of death;
  • the Laputans, who may have been interested in such technologies, were too distracted by their own thoughts to inquire about Gulliver's world;
  • such destructive power is so far removed from the Houyhnhnms that is not discussed.
see also firearms

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updated: 5 April 2000
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