What is gest?

Gest is a term that can refer to different things depending on the context. Here are a few possibilities:

• In linguistics, gest refers to a nonverbal gesture or movement that accompanies speech in order to convey meaning or emotion. Examples of gesticulations include raising one's eyebrows, shrugging one's shoulders, or making a facial expression.
• In physiology, gestation is the period of time during which an embryo develops within the uterus of a female mammal. This term is often shortened to "gest" to refer to the length of this period of time. The length of gestation varies based on the species – for humans, it typically lasts around nine months.
• In finance and investing, a gest is a unit of measurement for the amount of investment risk associated with a particular portfolio or fund. The gest is often compared to a benchmark or index to determine whether a fund is more or less risky than average. This term is less commonly used than the other two definitions mentioned above.