gesture
JES-cher · noun
Origin
Gesture comes from Medieval Latin gestūra, meaning "a mode of action," which was built from Latin gerō, "to bear" or, used reflexively, "to behave or act." The word's stem gest- (from the past participle gestus) plus the ending -ure gave English its noun.
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Journey
At its root the word was about a whole manner of acting or bearing oneself, not just the hands. Over time that broad sense of general conduct narrowed into the specific bodily movement we mean when we talk about a gesture today.
Related words
Because gesture traces back to Latin gerō, "to bear or act," it shares that root with other English words built on gest-.