gull

C2+ Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ɡʌl/ UK /ɡʌl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a seabird of the family Laridae; also, to deceive or cheat someone

A lone gull wheeled above the harbor crying for scraps.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a seabird of the family... dupe deceive cheat trick swindle fool hoodwink con

Word family

Derived forms gulliblegullibility

Etymology

As a verb 'to deceive', perhaps from the dialectal gull ('unfledged bird, gosling'), implying a foolish or unwary person; the bird name is of uncertain Celtic origin, from Welsh gwylan ('gull').

gwylan Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# gull

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɡʌl/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡʌl/

## Meanings
1. a seabird of the family Laridae; also, to deceive or cheat someone

## Examples
- A lone gull wheeled above the harbor crying for scraps.

## Synonyms
- dupe
- deceive
- cheat
- trick
- swindle
- fool
- hoodwink
- con

## Derived Forms
- gullible
- gullibility

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gwylan

## Etymology
As a verb 'to deceive', perhaps from the dialectal gull ('unfledged bird, gosling'), implying a foolish or unwary person; the bird name is of uncertain Celtic origin, from Welsh gwylan ('gull').

## AI Etymology
Gull has sense-specific history: as a verb 'to deceive', perhaps from the dialectal gull ('unfledged bird, gosling'), implying a foolish or unwary person; the bird name is of uncertain Celtic origin, from Welsh gwylan ('gull'). Important recorded forms include gwylan (Old French). Its deeper history remains uncertain, with proposed links left as possibilities rather than a single settled derivation. The current sense covers a seabird of the family Laridae; also, to deceive or cheat someone. The wider family includes derived forms such as gullible and gullibility.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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