gall

B1 Topic:The Human Body

US /ɡɔːl/ See IPA manual

Freq #14577

Meanings

1

noun
Rude boldness; nerve; cheek.

He had the gall to come back and ask for more food.
2

verb
To annoy or irritate someone deeply.

It galls me that we lost the case.
3

verb
To rub the skin sore through friction.

The stiff new boots galled his heels.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · rude boldness; nerve; cheek. nerve cheek

2 verb · to annoy or irritate... irk

More nutgall

Word family

Forms galledgallinggalls

Derived forms begallgall-lessgall-of-the-earthgallapplegallbladdergallbushgallergallflowergallflygallicgallicolousgallification

Etymology

From Middle English galle, from Old English ġealla, galla, from Proto-West Germanic *gallā, from Proto-Germanic *gallǭ. The figurative senses (e.g., impudence, brazenness, chutzpah) are related to the literal sense (i.e., bile) via the lasting linguocultural effects of humorism, which governed Western medicine for many centuries before the advent of scientific medicine. Related to Dutch gal, German Galle, Swedish galle, galla, Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ). Also remotely related with yellow and gold.

*ǵʰelh₃- Proto-Indo-European galle Middle English ġealla Old English *gallā Proto-West Germanic *gallǭ Proto-Germanic

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# gall

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɡɔːl/
**Frequency rank:** 14577

## Meanings
1. Rude boldness; nerve; cheek.
2. To annoy or irritate someone deeply.
3. To rub the skin sore through friction.

## Examples
- He had the gall to come back and ask for more food.
- It galls me that we lost the case.
- The stiff new boots galled his heels.

## Synonyms
- nutgall

## Derived Forms
- begall
- gall-less
- gall-of-the-earth
- gallapple
- gallbladder
- gallbush
- galler
- gallflower
- gallfly
- gallic
- gallicolous
- gallification

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵʰelh₃-
- Root: galle
- Root: ġealla
- Root: *gallā
- Root: *gallǭ

## Etymology
From Middle English galle, from Old English ġealla, galla, from Proto-West Germanic *gallā, from Proto-Germanic *gallǭ. The figurative senses (e.g., impudence, brazenness, chutzpah) are related to the literal sense (i.e., bile) via the lasting linguocultural effects of humorism, which governed Western medicine for many centuries before the advent of scientific medicine. Related to Dutch gal, German Galle, Swedish galle, galla, Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ). Also remotely related with yellow and gold.

## AI Etymology
Gall comes from Middle English galle, from Old English ġealla, galla, from Proto-West Germanic *gallā, from Proto-Germanic *gallǭ. The figurative senses (e.g., impudence, brazenness, chutzpah) are related to the literal sense (i.e., bile) via the lasting linguocultural effects of humorism, which governed Western medicine for many centuries before the advent of scientific medicine. Related to Dutch gal, German Galle, Swedish galle, galla, Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ). Also remotely related with yellow and gold. In current use, the main senses are “Rude boldness; nerve; cheek” and “To annoy or irritate someone deeply”.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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gall

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