Definitions for gall
gɔlgall

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. saddle sore, gallnoun

   an open sore on the back of a horse caused by ill-fitting or badly adjusted saddle

2. gallnoun

   a skin sore caused by chafing

3. gallnoun

   abnormal swelling of plant tissue caused by insects or microorganisms or injury

4. resentment, bitterness, gall, rancor, rancournoun

   a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will

5. bile, gallnoun

   a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats

6. crust, gall, impertinence, impudence, insolence, cheekiness, freshnessnoun

   the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties

7. chafe, gall, fretverb

   become or make sore by or as if by rubbing

8. gall, irkverb

   irritate or vex

   "It galls me that we lost the suit"

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. GALLnoun

   Etymology: geala, Saxon; galle, Dutch.

   1. The bile; an animal juice remarkable for its supposed bitterness.

   Come to my woman’s breast,
   And take my milk for gall, you murth’ring ministers! William Shakespeare.

   A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
   Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall. William Shakespeare.

   It drew from my heart all love,
   And added to the gall. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   This position informs us of a vulgar errour, terming the gall bitter, as their proverb more peremptorily implies, It’s as bitter as gall; whereas there’s nothing gustable sweeter; and what is most unctuous must needs partake of a sweet savour. Gideon Harvey, on Consumptions.

   Gall is the greatest resolvent of curdled milk: Herman Boerhaave has given at a time one drop of the gall of an eel with success. John Arbuthnot, on Diet.

   2. The part which contains the bile.

   The married couple, as a testimony of future concord, did cast the gall of the sacrifice behind the altar. Thomas Browne, Vu. Err.

   3. Any thing extremely bitter.

   Thither write, my queen,
   And with mine eyes I’ll drink the words you send,
   Though ink be made of gall. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.

   Poison be their drink!
   Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest meat they taste! William Shakespeare.

   She still insults, and you must still adore;
   Grant that the honey’s much, the gall is more. John Dryden, Juv.

   4. Rancour; malignity.

   They did great hurt unto his title, and have left a perpetual gall in the mind of the people. Edmund Spenser, State of Ireland.

   5. A slight hurt by fretting off the skin. [From the verb.]

   This is the fatalest wound of the tongue, carries least smart, but infinitely more of danger; and is as much superior to the former, as a gangrene is to a gall or scratch: this may be sore and vexing, but that stupifying and deadening. Government of the Tongue, s. 8.

   6. Anger; bitterness of mind.

   Suppose your hero were a lover,
   Though he before had gall and rage;
   He grows dispirited and low,
   He hates the fight, and shuns the blow. Matthew Prior.

   7. [From galla.]Galls or galnuts are a kind of preternatural and accidental tumours, produced on various trees; but those of the oak only are used in medicine. We have two kinds, the Oriental and the European galls: the Oriental are brought from Aleppo, of the bigness of a large nutmeg, with tubercles on their surface, of a very firm and solid texture, and a disagreeable, acerb, and astringent taste. The European galls are of the same size, with perfectly smooth surfaces: they are light, often spongy, and cavernous within, and always of a lax texture. They have a less austere taste, and are of much less value than the first sort, both in manufactures and medicine. The general history of galls is this: an insect of the fly kind, for the safety of her young, wounds the branches of the trees, and in the hole deposites her egg: the lacerated vessels of the tree discharging their contents, form a tumour or woody case about the hole, where the egg is thus defended from all injuries. This tumour also serves for the food of the tender maggot, produced from the egg of the fly, which, as soon as it is perfect, and in its winged state, gnaws its way out, as appears from the hole found in the gall; and where no hole is seen on its surface, the maggot, or its remains, are sure to be found within, on breaking it. It has been observed, that the oak does not produce galls in cold countries: but this observation should be confined to the medicinal galls; for all those excrescencies which we find on this tree in our own woods, and call oak-apples, oak-grapes, and oak-cones, are true and genuine galls, though less firm in their texture. The true reason of the hard ones not being produced with us, seems to be that we want the peculiar species of insect to which they owe their origin, which is a fly of the ichneumon kind, only found in hot countries. The species of fly that occasions, by its punctures, the soft galls of France and Italy, is different both from the Syrian one and from ours, though still of the ichneumon kind; and we find the several kinds, which occasion the different galls in our own kingdom, produce different kinds, and those of different degrees of hardness, on the same tree. Galls are used in making ink, and in dying and dressing leather, and many other manufactures. In medicine they are very astringent, and good under proper management. Hill.

   Besides the acorns, the oak beareth galls, oak-apples, and oak-nuts. Francis Bacon, Natural History, №. 635.

   Malpighi, in his treatise of galls, under which name he comprehends all preternatural and morose excrescences, demonstrates that all such excrescences, where any insects are found, are excited by some venenose liquor, which, together with their eggs, such insects shed. John Ray, on the Creation.

   The Aleppo galls, wherewith we make ink, are no other than cases of insects, which are bred in them. William Derham.

2. To Gallverb

   Etymology: galer, French.

   1. To hurt by fretting the skin.

   I’ll touch my point
   With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly,
   It may be death. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

   His yoke is easy, when by us embrac’d;
   But loads and galls, if on our necks ’tis cast. John Denham.

   A carrier, when he would think of a remedy for his galled horse, begins with casting his eye upon all things. John Locke.

   On the monarch’s speech Achilles broke,
   And furious thus, and interrupting spoke,
   Tyrant, I well deserv’d thy galling chain. Alexander Pope, Iliad.

   2. To impair; to wear away.

   He doth object, I am too great of birth;
   And that my state being gall’d with my expence,
   I seek to heal it only by his wealth. William Shakespeare.

   If it should fall down in a continual stream like a river, it would gall the ground, wash away plants by the roots, and overthrow houses. John Ray, on the Creation.

   3. To teaze; to fret; to vex.

   In honour of that action, and to gall their minds who did not so much commend it, he wrote his book. Richard Hooker, b. ii.

   What they seem contented with, even for that very cause we reject; and there is nothing but it pleaseth us the better, if we espy that it galleth them. Richard Hooker, b. iv. s. 9.

   When I shew justice,
   I pity those I do not know;
   Which a dismiss’d offence would after gall. William Shakespeare.

   Let it not gall your patience, good Iago,
   That I extend my manners: ’tis my breeding,
   That gives me this bold shew of courtesy. William Shakespeare, Othello.

   All studies here I solemnly defy,
   Save how to gall and pinch this Bolingbroke. William Shakespeare, H. IV.

   No man commits any sin but his conscience smites him, and his guilty mind is frequently galled with the remembrance of it. John Tillotson, Sermons.

   4 . To harrass; to mischief.

   The Helots had gotten new heart, and with divers sorts of shot from corners of streets and house-windows galled them. Philip Sidney.

   Light demilances from afar they throw,
   Fasten’d with leathern thongs, to gall the foe. John Dryden, Æn.

   In our wars against the French of old, we used to gall them with our long bows, at a greater distance than they could shoot their arrows. Joseph Addison, on the State of the War.

3. To Gallverb

   To fret.

   I have seen you glecking and galling at this gentleman twice or thrice. William Shakespeare, Henry V.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gall

   Galls (from Latin galla, 'oak-apple') or cecidia (from Greek kēkidion, anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or warts in animals. They can be caused by various parasites, from viruses, fungi and bacteria, to other plants, insects and mites. Plant galls are often highly organized structures so that the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. This applies particularly to some insect and mite plant galls. The study of plant galls is known as cecidology. In human pathology, a gall is a raised sore on the skin, usually caused by chafing or rubbing.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. gall

   Gall typically refers to bold, impudent behavior. It could also refer to the bile secreted by the liver of most vertebrates and stored in the gallbladder. In plants, gall refers to an abnormal outgrowth caused by insects or other parasites. Its usage and meaning can differ based on context.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gallnoun

   the bitter, alkaline, viscid fluid found in the gall bladder, beneath the liver. It consists of the secretion of the liver, or bile, mixed with that of the mucous membrane of the gall bladder

2. Gallnoun

   the gall bladder

3. Gallnoun

   anything extremely bitter; bitterness; rancor

4. Gallnoun

   impudence; brazen assurance

5. Gallnoun

   an excrescence of any form produced on any part of a plant by insects or their larvae. They are most commonly caused by small Hymenoptera and Diptera which puncture the bark and lay their eggs in the wounds. The larvae live within the galls. Some galls are due to aphids, mites, etc. See Gallnut

6. Gallverb

   to impregnate with a decoction of gallnuts

7. Gallverb

   to fret and wear away by friction; to hurt or break the skin of by rubbing; to chafe; to injure the surface of by attrition; as, a saddle galls the back of a horse; to gall a mast or a cable

8. Gallverb

   to fret; to vex; as, to be galled by sarcasm

9. Gallverb

   to injure; to harass; to annoy; as, the troops were galled by the shot of the enemy

10. Gallverb

    to scoff; to jeer

11. Gallnoun

    a wound in the skin made by rubbing

12. Etymology: [OE. gallen; cf. F. galer to scratch, rub, gale scurf, scab, G. galle a disease in horses' feet, an excrescence under the tongue of horses; of uncertain origin. Cf. Gall gallnut.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gall

   Galls or cecidia are outgrowths on the surface of lifeforms. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues and can be caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacteria, to insects and mites. Plant galls are often highly organized structures and because of this the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. This applies particularly to some insect and mite plant galls. In pathology, a gall is a raised sore on the skin, usually caused by chafing or rubbing.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gall

   gawl, n. the greenish-yellow fluid secreted from the liver, called bile: bitterness: malignity.—ns. Gall-bladd′er, a pear-shaped bag lying on the under side of the liver, a reservoir for the bile; Gall′-stone, a hard concretion in the gall-bladder or biliary ducts.—Gall and wormwood, anything extremely disagreeable and annoying.—In the gall of bitterness, in a state of extreme hostility to God (Acts, viii. 23). [A.S. gealla, gall; cf. Ger. galle, Gr. cholē, L. fel.]

2. Gall

   gawl, n. a light nut-like ball which certain insects produce on the oak-tree, used in dyeing—also Gall′-nut.—v.t. to fret or hurt the skin by rubbing: to annoy: to enrage.—v.i. (Shak.) to act in a galling manner.—ns. Gall′ate, a salt of gallic acid; Gall′fly, an insect which occasions gall on plants by puncturing.—adj. Gall′ing, irritating.—adv. Gall′ingly.—Gallic acid, a crystalline substance obtained from gall-nuts, and used in making ink. [Fr. galle—L. galla, oak-apple.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. gall

   See WIND-GALL.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. gall

   To injure; to harass; to annoy; as, the troops were galled by the shot of an enemy.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. GALL

   What does GALL stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the GALL acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

EntomologyRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gall

   an abnormal swelling or excrescence on a plant, produced by an insect: = cecidium.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. GALL

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Gall is ranked #3681 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Gall surname appeared 9,658 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 would have the surname Gall.
   
   90.3% or 8,730 total occurrences were White.
   3.3% or 320 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   2.2% or 215 total occurrences were Black.
   2.2% or 214 total occurrences were Asian.
   1.4% or 141 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.3% or 38 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

1. • Digestive Juice
   • Discourtesy
   • Irritate
   • Plant Tissue
   • Sore

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'gall' in Nouns Frequency: #2956

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce gall?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say gall in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of gall in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of gall in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of gall in a Sentence

1. Jean Kerr:

   One of the most difficult things to contend with in a hospital is that assumption on the part of the staff that because you have lost your gall bladder you have also lost your mind.

2. Jeb Bush:

   Donald Trump had the gall to go after my mother.

3. Senator Paul:

   Yesterday the Saudi foreign minister chose to lecture me on television about the Jamal Khashoggi murder, he said my opinion was based on emotion and speculation and that we should presume innocence for the crown prince. My response to him is that it takes a lot of damn gall for Saudi Arabia, with a dictatorship with 3,000 political prisoners held without trial, to lecture the US on the presumption of innocence.

4. William Shakespeare, Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, act 1, sc. 1.:

   Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs, Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes, Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers’ tears. What is it else? A madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet.

5. John Locke:

   Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=gall
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=gall
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gall
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gall
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=gall
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=gall
8. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=gall
9. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
10. ^ Entomology
    https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22748/22748-h/22748-h.htm#:~:text=gall
11. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
    https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html
12. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=gall