gall

1
[ gawl ]
See synonyms for gall on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. bile, especially that of an animal.

  1. something bitter or severe.

  2. bitterness of spirit; rancor.

Idioms about gall

  1. gall and wormwood, bitterness of spirit; deep resentment.

Origin of gall

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English galle, gal “gallbladder; bitter taste; rancor; poison,” Old English gealla “bile”; cognate with German Galle; akin to Latin fel, Greek cholḗ, chólos “gall, bile”; gall2

Other words for gall

Other definitions for gall (2 of 4)

gall2
[ gawl ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to vex or irritate greatly: His arrogant manner galls me.

  2. to make sore by rubbing; chafe severely: The saddle galled the horse's back.

verb (used without object)
  1. to be or become chafed.

  2. Machinery. (of either of two engaging metal parts) to lose metal to the other because of heat or molecular attraction resulting from friction.

  1. Metallurgy. (of a die or compact in powder metallurgy) to lose surface material through adhesion to the die.

noun
  1. something very vexing or irritating.

  2. a state of vexation or irritation.

  1. a sore on the skin, especially of a horse, due to rubbing; excoriation.

Origin of gall

2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English gal(l)e, gaul(e) “sore (on the skin); stain, impurity; barren spot (in a field),” Old English gealla “an abrasion or sore (on a horse)”; possibly from Latin galla “nutgall”; possibly the same as gall1, the senses developing from “bile” to “poison” to “(poisonous) sore” to “stain”;see also gall3

Other words from gall

  • un·galled, adjective

Other definitions for gall (3 of 4)

gall3
[ gawl ]

noun
  1. any abnormal vegetable growth or excrescence on a plant, caused by various agents, as insects, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and mechanical injuries.

Origin of gall

3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galle, from Middle French, from Latin galla “gallnut”; see gall2

Other definitions for Gall (4 of 4)

Gall
[ gawl ]

noun
  1. Pizi, 1840?–94, leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux: a major chief in the battle of Little Bighorn.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gall in a sentence

  • There are no chains to my prison, no steel cuffs to gall the limbs, no guards to threaten and cow me.

  • Woe to him that giveth drink to his friend, and presenteth his gall, and maketh him drunk, that he may behold his nakedness.

  • Dressed Monte's withers with liniment greatly reducing swelling from saddle-gall.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • Owing to the practice of wearing corsets, gall-stones occur much more commonly in women than in men.

  • Twenty-five per centum of all women over 60 years of age are found to have gall-stones.

British Dictionary definitions for gall (1 of 4)

gall1

/ (ɡɔːl) /


noun
  1. informal impudence

  2. bitterness; rancour

  1. something bitter or disagreeable

  2. physiol an obsolete term for bile 1

  3. an obsolete term for gall bladder

Origin of gall

1
from Old Norse, replacing Old English gealla; related to Old High German galla, Greek kholē

British Dictionary definitions for gall (2 of 4)

gall2

/ (ɡɔːl) /


noun
  1. a sore on the skin caused by chafing

  2. something that causes vexation or annoyance: a gall to the spirits

  1. irritation; exasperation

verb
  1. pathol to abrade (the skin, etc) as by rubbing

  2. (tr) to irritate or annoy; vex

Origin of gall

2
C14: of Germanic origin; related to Old English gealla sore on a horse, and perhaps to gall 1

British Dictionary definitions for gall (3 of 4)

gall3

/ (ɡɔːl) /


noun
  1. an abnormal outgrowth in plant tissue caused by certain parasitic insects, fungi, bacteria, or mechanical injury

Origin of gall

3
C14: from Old French galle, from Latin galla

British Dictionary definitions for gall. (4 of 4)

gall.

abbreviation for
  1. gallon

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for gall

gall

[ gôl ]


  1. An abnormal swelling of plant tissue, caused by injury or by parasitic organisms such as insects, mites, nematodes, and bacteria. Parasites stimulate the production of galls by secreting chemical irritants on or in the plant tissue. Galls stimulated by egg-laying parasites typically provide a protective environment in which the eggs can hatch and the pupae develop, and they usually do only minor damage to the host plant. Gall-stimulating fungi and microorganisms, such as the bacterium that causes crown gall, are generally considered to be plant diseases.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.