gall

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

Definition for gall (2 of 4)

gall²

[ gawl ]

/ gɔl /

verb (used with object)

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

to vex or irritate greatly: His arrogant manner galls me.

verb (used without object)

to be or become chafed.

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

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

noun

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

something very vexing or irritating.

a state of vexation or irritation.

Origin of gall

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

Definition for gall (3 of 4)

gall³

[ gawl ]

/ gɔl /

noun

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

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

Definition for gall (4 of 4)

Gall

[ gawl ]

/ gɔl /

noun

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. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for gall

That must have galled Lehman, who is twenty years younger than Hitchcock.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Galled by the stranglehold of the religious right, he has challenged the party to open itself up to young voters and new ideas.
The Next McCain?|Robert Gehrke|May 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Genius did not disdain the entrance, because it was not obstructed by numbers, or galled by conceit.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 66, No 405, July 1849|Various
The delay of McClernand galled him, and deranged his plans, but could not defeat him.
Our Standard-Bearer|Oliver Optic

He had to live on her money, which galled him, and to be assisted by the Dean's money, which was wormwood to him.
Is He Popenjoy?|Anthony Trollope
Her generous instincts, slumbering and long repressed but now suddenly and for the first time awakened, were galled at every turn.
Eugenie Grandet|Honore de Balzac
Galled by this burden, they resolved to take the law into their own hands, and to break down the gates in every part.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan

British Dictionary definitions for gall (1 of 4)

gall¹

/ (ɡɔːl) /

noun

informal impudence

bitterness; rancour

something bitter or disagreeable

physiol an obsolete term for bile 1

an obsolete term for gall bladder

Word Origin for gall

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

a sore on the skin caused by chafing

something that causes vexation or annoyancea gall to the spirits

irritation; exasperation

verb

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

(tr) to irritate or annoy; vex

Word Origin for gall

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

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

Word Origin for gall

C14: from Old French galle, from Latin galla

British Dictionary definitions for gall (4 of 4)

gall.

gal.

abbreviation for

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

Medical definitions for gall (1 of 2)

gall 1¹

[ gôl ]

n.

bile

Medical definitions for gall (2 of 2)

gall 2²

[ gôl ]

n.

A skin sore caused by friction and abrasion.

v.

To become irritated, chafed, or sore.

Scientific definitions for gall

gall

[ gôl ]

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.

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

gall

noun

SYNONYMS FOR gall

QUIZZES

LEARN THE SPANISH WORDS FOR THESE COMMON ANIMALS!

Idioms for gall

Origin of gall

Definition for gall (2 of 4)

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of gall

OTHER WORDS FROM gall

Definition for gall (3 of 4)

noun

Origin of gall

Definition for gall (4 of 4)

noun

Words related to gall

Example sentences from the Web for gall

British Dictionary definitions for gall (1 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for gall

British Dictionary definitions for gall (2 of 4)

noun

verb

Word Origin for gall

British Dictionary definitions for gall (3 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for gall

British Dictionary definitions for gall (4 of 4)

gal.

abbreviation for

Medical definitions for gall (1 of 2)

n.

Medical definitions for gall (2 of 2)

n.

v.

Scientific definitions for gall