significance vs gist

significance and gist both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
significance	Yes	No	No	No
gist	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, gist is a hyponym of significance; that is, gist is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than significance:

significance (noun)	gist (noun)
the quality of being significant	the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred	the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
the message that is intended or expressed or signified