1580s, possibly a dialectal survival from Old Norse gustr "a cold blast of wind" (related to gusa "to gush, spurt") or Old High German gussa "flood," both from Proto-Germanic *gustiz, from PIE *gheus-, from root *gheu- "to pour" (see found(2)). Probably originally in English as a nautical term. As a verb, from 1813. Related: Gusted; gusting.