Galla
Americannoun
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.
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
“He probably understands,” Galla said, “that we will not be able to go back there.”
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
On the verge of the plain was descried a band of the Alla Galla driving off a troop of camels, and with the points of their spears goading the awkward animals to a grotesque gallop.
From The Highlands of Ethiopia by Harris, William Cornwallis
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.
