Galla
Americannoun
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Gallas,
plural
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Galla
plural
noun
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a member of a tall dark-skinned people inhabiting Somalia and SE Ethiopia
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the language of this people, belonging to the Cushitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages
Sensitive Note
The Oromo (a nomadic, pastoral people of Ethiopia and Kenya) were formerly called Galla by other Ethiopians, and this name is common in historical texts through the early 20th century. However, Galla was never used by the Oromo themselves, and it is now considered a derogatory name for the people.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Galla
First recorded in 1875–80; origin uncertain; perhaps from Amharic or from Arabic ghalīẓ “wild, rough.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ms. Galla, who has won Olympic gold three times for cross-country skiing, took second in the competition behind YouTuber Hampus Hedström.
From Washington Times ● May 29, 2023
In a black backpack she has carried every day since leaving Mariupol, Galla keeps a handwritten note in a side pocket listing contact information for her mother, father and grandmother.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2022
Galla, a 37-year-old medical student and ambulance team supervisor in Monrovia, is one of them.
From Time ● Oct. 2, 2014
“Chris is always in the right place at the right time, and that’s not a luck thing,” Dave Galla, one of Drury’s Trumbull teammates, told me when I wrote an article about them.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2011
At first thinly wooded, the soil was covered with tall rank grass, which, in consequence of the perpetual incursions of the Galla, grew in all its native luxuriance, uncropped whether by flock or herd.
From The Highlands of Ethiopia by William Cornwallis Harris
Gallas pauses, “Is that something your dad needs a lot?”
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2022
He has a look at a new master plan by Torti Gallas + Partners that would spruce up the outdoor areas and connect islands of park that were previously disconnected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2019
Commission Vice Chairman Thomas M. Gallas said the commission has received “hundreds” of public comments on the issue.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2018
Thuram and William Gallas felt the lash of their captain’s tongue.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2018
From his hut came Fridolinus, Fully robed in priestly vestments; By his side walked his companions Who had come from distant places: Gallas from Helvetia; also From the Bodensee Columban.
From The Trumpeter of Säkkingen A Song from the Upper Rhine. by Joseph Victor von Scheffel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
