gall

¹ American  

[gawl] / gɔl /

noun

1. impudence; effrontery.

   Synonyms:

   cheek, brass, audacity, nerve

2. bile, especially that of an animal.

3. something bitter or severe.

4. bitterness of spirit; rancor.

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idioms

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

gall ² American  

[gawl] / gɔl /

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.

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Gall ³ American  

[gawl] / gɔl /

noun

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

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gall ⁴ American  

[gawl] / gɔl /

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.

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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.

3. 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.

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

gall ¹ British  

/ ɡɔːl /

noun

1. informal impudence

2. bitterness; rancour

3. something bitter or disagreeable

4. physiol an obsolete term for bile 1

5. an obsolete term for gall bladder

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gall ² British  

/ ɡɔːl /

noun

1. a sore on the skin caused by chafing

2. something that causes vexation or annoyance

   a gall to the spirits

3. irritation; exasperation

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verb

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

2. (tr) to irritate or annoy; vex

gall ³ British  

/ ɡɔːl /

noun

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

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gall. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. gallon

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gall Scientific  

/ 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.

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Other Word Forms

• ungalled adjective

Etymology

Origin of gall¹

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”; gall ² ( def. )

Origin of gall¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galle, from Middle French, from Latin galla “gallnut”; gall ²

Origin of gall¹

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 gall ¹ ( def. ), the senses developing from “bile” to “poison” to “(poisonous) sore” to “stain”; gall ³ ( def. )

Example Sentences

“We have to make our own from anything with tannin — oak galls, acorns or black walnuts — and let it sit to dye it black.”

From Los Angeles Times

He had a procedure which resulted in the removal of part of his pancreas, the duodenum, the gall bladder and part of his liver.

From BBC

The most galling part of this defeat is what it could have done to Australia.

From BBC

Many were particularly galled about a provision in the U.S. plan that extended amnesty for actions taken by all parties during the war.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ms Dyson says she found the aftercare galling, and says this is commonplace for many women.

From BBC

Related Words

• annoy
• bedevil
• disturb
• exasperate
• irk
• nag
• peeve
• rile
• torment
• vex