gull1
- any of numerous long-winged, web-toed, aquatic birds of the family Laridae, having usually white plumage with a gray back and wings.
Origin of gull1
gull2
- to deceive, trick, or cheat.
- a person who is easily deceived or cheated; dupe.
Origin of gull2
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for gull
Contemporary Examples
Yes, and a terrible lie—designed to gull money from a generous, unsuspecting public.
Colonel of Truth: The KFC Hoax and the Idiocy of Crowdfunding for Bullying VictimsScott Bixby
June 25, 2014
Gull introduced Mortenson to the villagers as being a medical doctor and professor at an American medical college.
Historical Examples
It's easy to gull you, for you can't see any further than a child of five.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
I can sprawl on that seaweed and be as comfortable as a gull on a clam flat.
Fair HarborJoseph Crosby Lincoln
Then he sighed, picked up his pencil and turned again to the drawing of the gull.
ShavingsJoseph C. Lincoln
The place was very quiet and rather cold, but all as clean as a gull's wing.
The ManxmanHall Caine
Always he appeared a white dot on the blue horizon, like the flash of a gull.
Tales of FishesZane Grey
gull1
- any aquatic bird of the genus Larus and related genera, such as L. canus (common gull or mew) having long pointed wings, short legs, and a mostly white plumage: family Laridae, order CharadriiformesRelated adjective: larine
Word Origin
gull2
- a person who is easily fooled or cheated
- (tr) to fool, cheat, or hoax
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for gull
n.1
shore bird, early 15c. (in a cook book), probably from Brythonic Celtic, cf. Welsh gwylan "gull," Cornish guilan, Breton goelann; all from Old Celtic *voilenno-. Replaced Old English mæw (see mew (n.1)).
n.2
cant term for "dupe, sucker, credulous person," 1590s, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from verb meaning "to dupe, cheat" (1540s), earlier "to swallow" (1520s), ultimately from gull "throat, gullet" (early 15c.); see gullet. Or it is perhaps from (or influenced by) the bird (see gull (n.1)); in either case with a sense of "someone who will swallow anything thrown at him." Another possibility is Middle English dialectal gull "newly hatched bird" (late 14c.), which is perhaps from Old Norse golr "yellow," from the hue of its down.