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definitions

gull

1
[guhl]
||
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noun

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 gull

1
1400–50; late Middle English gulle, perhaps < Welsh gŵylan, Cornish guilan (compare French goéland < Breton gwelan)
Related formsgull-like, adjective

gull

2
[guhl]

verb (used with object)

to deceive, trick, or cheat.

noun

a person who is easily deceived or cheated; dupe.

Origin of gull

2
First recorded in 1540–50; perhaps akin to obsolete gull to swallow, guzzle

Synonyms for gull

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gull ON THESAURUS.COM
1. cozen, dupe, fool, bamboozle, hoodwink.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gull

fool, mislead, dupe, trick, defraud, deceive, gyp, hoodwink, bamboozle

Examples from the Web for gull

Contemporary Examples of gull

Historical Examples of gull

  • It's easy to gull you, for you can't see any further than a child of five.

  • I can sprawl on that seaweed and be as comfortable as a gull on a clam flat.

    Fair Harbor

    Joseph Crosby Lincoln

  • Then he sighed, picked up his pencil and turned again to the drawing of the gull.

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • The place was very quiet and rather cold, but all as clean as a gull's wing.

    The Manxman

    Hall Caine

  • Always he appeared a white dot on the blue horizon, like the flash of a gull.

British Dictionary definitions for gull

gull

1

noun

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
Derived Formsgull-like, adjective

Word Origin for gull

C15: of Celtic origin; compare Welsh gwylan

gull

2

noun

a person who is easily fooled or cheated

verb

(tr) to fool, cheat, or hoax

Word Origin for gull

C16: perhaps from dialect gull unfledged bird, probably from gul, from Old Norse gulr yellow
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
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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper