The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (842 page)

 
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Gentile
.

A non-Jewish person. The term
goy
, although frequently used, is inappropriate, since the Heb. term means ‘nation’, and is used in the Bible of Israel. More accurate might be
nokhri
, a foreigner (or stranger), or
ger
, alien (see
PROSELYTE
). From early times, a distinction was made between
ger toshav
(lit., ‘resident alien’), one who keeps the
Noachide laws
, and
akum
, an acronym for those who worship stars and planets.

 
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(Lat., ‘knee’ + ‘I bend’). Act of reverence performed by kneeling briefly on one knee.

 
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Geomancy
.

Divination
based on patterns or shapes drawn (or appearing) on ‘the land’
(Gk.), particularly on sand. The term is also applied to
feng-shui
(winds and waters), the ancient Chinese proto-science of siting human habitations (for the living or the dead) in locations that will take maximum advantage of the currents of vital breath (
ch'i
) that circulate throughout the landscape.

 
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Geonim
(pl.)
(title for heads of Jewish academies)
:

see
GAON
.

 
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George, St
.

Patron saint
of England (and of soldiers, knights, etc.) and
martyr
. Very little is known of his life or death, but he probably died at or near Lydda in Palestine
c.
303. His cult and legends did not become popular until the 6th cent. In the E. he is known as the great martyr,
megalomartyros
. The slaying of the dragon (a standard symbol of strength) is first credited to him only in the 12th cent., but became widely known in the W. through the
Golden Legend
.

 
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