galling
[gaw-ling]
- that galls; chafing; irritating; vexing; exasperating.
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Origin of galling
gall2
[gawl]
- to make sore by rubbing; chafe severely: The saddle galled the horse's back.
- to vex or irritate greatly: His arrogant manner galls me.
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- 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.
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- a sore on the skin, especially of a horse, due to rubbing; excoriation.
- something very vexing or irritating.
- a state of vexation or irritation.
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Origin of gall2
before 1000; Middle English galle (noun), gallen (v.) perhaps < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German gall, akin to Old English gealla sore on a horse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for galling
Contemporary Examples
Runfola's defense is nothing short of galling–and her lawyer should be called out for it.
To Palmer, the coincidence of his bullpen exile and his return to form was galling.
How galling it must have been to her to see once radical manifestos used for nostalgia.
That was galling for those who described the invasion of Iraq as a conflict of choice, not necessity.
But, boy oh boy, are we about to enter a galling period of hearing them pretend otherwise.
Historical Examples
That galling thought made the blood gush from his gaping wound.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
This was galling his independent nature, and he determined to avoid it if possible.
Cleveland Past and PresentMaurice Joblin
But it was galling to discover that he could not do otherwise.
Where Angels Fear to TreadE. M. Forster
The galling fire proves too much for them and back they come.
But there is no spur so galling as the derisive smile of a comely young woman.
Bloom of CactusRobert Ames Bennet
galling
- irritating, exasperating, or bitterly humiliating
- obsolete rubbing painfully; chafing
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gall1
- informal impudence
- bitterness; rancour
- something bitter or disagreeable
- physiol an obsolete term for bile 1
- an obsolete term for gall bladder
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Word Origin
from Old Norse, replacing Old English gealla; related to Old High German galla, Greek kholē
gall2
- a sore on the skin caused by chafing
- something that causes vexation or annoyancea gall to the spirits
- irritation; exasperation
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- pathol to abrade (the skin, etc) as by rubbing
- (tr) to irritate or annoy; vex
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Word Origin
C14: of Germanic origin; related to Old English gealla sore on a horse, and perhaps to gall 1
gall3
- an abnormal outgrowth in plant tissue caused by certain parasitic insects, fungi, bacteria, or mechanical injury
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French galle, from Latin galla
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for galling
adj.
"irritating, offensive," 1580s, figurative use of present participle of gall (v.).
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gall
n.1
"bile," Old English galla (Anglian), gealla (W. Saxon) "gall, bile," from Proto-Germanic *gallon- (cf. Old Norse gall, Old Saxon, Old High German galla, German Galle), from PIE root *ghel- "gold, yellow, yellowish-green" (see Chloe). Informal sense of "impudence, boldness" first recorded American English 1882; but meaning "embittered spirit, rancor" is from c.1200, from the medieval theory of humors. Gall bladder recorded from 1670s.
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gall
n.2
"sore spot on a horse," Old English gealla "painful swelling," from Latin galla "gall, lump on plant," originally "oak apple," of uncertain origin. Perhaps from or influenced by gall (1) on notion of "poison-sore." German galle, Dutch gal also are from Latin.
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gall
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.
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