'Gift' is a noun.

[Spud]

@RealityChuck

The OP is a few centuries late to the party. The OED shows it’s been used as a noun since before 1627.

Did you look this up in any dictionary before claiming it’s wrong?

He is saying it IS a noun and IS NOT a verb.

[John_Mace]

@Aquadementia

Seems like a new usage to me, at least in my experience.

I wonder if it comes about from “present” being another word for “gift” and “present” with a slightly different pronunciation meaning to give a gift. So "gift’ gets the same usage as “present” whether it should or not.

I also suspect there is internet jargon to blame here.

According to the OED, “gift” as a verb has been around for 400 years.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@Peremensoe

Well, that is the primary definition of “give.”

Not the primary: just the oldest. I can give you a cold, but it’s not a present. I can give you fifty dollars as a loan; that’s not a gift either. " Gift" is less ambiguous.

[Knorf]

In English, you can verb anything.

[Maserschmidt]

@John_Mace

According to the OED, “gift” as a verb has been around for 400 years.

Certainly it’s been around a long while in the sense of someone being gifted with talent/skills.

[Peremensoe]

@Maserschmidt

Certainly it’s been around a long while in the sense of someone being gifted with talent/skills.

Ah yes, talent “gifted by God.” That does go well with the idea that it celebrates the gift, and the Giver. You are not good or significant; the greatest thing about you isn’t really of or from you at all.

[Starving_Artist]

The one that really grates on me is “executive produced by”. You might as well say Joe Biden is vice-presidenting the country, and no one would be that stupid! Surely the great minds in Hollywood should know this. I don’t believe it’s done for the sake of brevity either. It’s just as quick and easy and takes up no less space on the screen to do it correctly. To wit:

Executive Producer: Steven Spielberg

vs.

Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg

[John_Mace]

@Peremensoe

Ah yes, talent “gifted by God.” That does go well with the idea that it celebrates the gift, and the Giver. You are not good or significant; the greatest thing about you isn’t really of or from you at all.

Wow. That’s a lot of extrapolation from almost nothing!

Also, being “gifted” is using the word as an adjective, not a verb.

[Peremensoe]

“God gifted Samson with extraordinary strength.”

[Little_Nemo]

@Starving_Artist

The one that really grates on me is “executive produced by”. You might as well say Joe Biden is vice-presidenting the country, and no one would be that stupid! Surely the great minds in Hollywood should know this. I don’t believe it’s done for the sake of brevity either. It’s just as quick and easy and takes up no less space on the screen to do it correctly. To wit:

Executive Producer: Steven Spielberg

vs.

Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg

Everyone should know the correct form: Executively Produced by Steven Spielberg.

[John_Mace]

@Peremensoe

“God gifted Samson with extraordinary strength.”

Phrasing from the Bible is not a good indicate of how people speak today. The term “gifted” is most often used an adjective. If “gift” is a verb, then surely “gifted” is the past tense, but it doesn’t have to imply “from God”.

[Little_Nemo]

@WhyNot

But I can give you something that isn’t a gift. I can give you your paycheck. I can give you the salt and pepper and expect it back when you’re done. I can even give you a hard time.

“Gift” as a verb means one and only one very specific thing: to make a present of something. It’s useful.

I agree. Gift, as a verb, has a distinct enough meaning from give to justify its use.