galloglass

or gal·low·glass

[ gal-oh-glas, -glahs ]

nounIrish History.

a follower and supporter of or a soldier owing allegiance to an Irish chief.

Origin of galloglass

1505–15; <Irish gallóglách, equivalent to gall a stranger, foreigner + óglach a youth, soldier, servant, derivative of Old Irish óac, óc young

Words Nearby galloglass

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use galloglass in a sentence

galloglass, gal′lo-glas, n. a soldier or armed retainer of a chief in ancient Ireland and other Celtic countries.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) | Various

British Dictionary definitions for galloglass

galloglass

gallowglass

/ (ˈɡæləʊˌɡlɑːs) /

noun

a heavily armed mercenary soldier, originally Hebridean (Gaelic-Norse), maintained by Irish and some other Celtic chiefs from about 1235 to the 16th century

Origin of galloglass

C16: from Irish Gaelic gallóglach, from gall foreigner + óglach, young warrior-servant, from og young + -lach a noun suffix

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

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