gall
gall Lexical Profile
gall Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Bold, impudent, or brazen behavior; shameless audacity.
"He had the gall to ask for a promotion after missing three major deadlines."
Deep bitterness of spirit, rancor, or cruel malice.
"Her review of the performance was filled with spite and gall."
An abnormal swelling or excrescence of plant tissue caused by parasitic insects, fungi, or bacteria.
"The oak leaves were covered in small round galls produced by wasps."
The bitter greenish-brown alkaline fluid secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; bile.
"In medieval physiology, an excess of black gall was thought to cause melancholy."
A painful sore on the skin caused by chafing or rubbing, especially on a horse.
"The poorly fitted saddle left a raw gall on the horse's back."
• verb
To make someone feel deeply annoyed, resentful, or humiliated; to vex or rankle.
"It galled her to see someone else take credit for her research."
To make skin sore or raw by rubbing or chafing.
"The heavy rope galled the sailor's hands during the storm."
• Rhymes for gall
Word Origin & Etymology
The word represents a convergence of three distinct historical roots: the sense of 'bile' or 'bitterness' comes from Old English gealla (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ghel-, 'yellow or green'); the sense of a 'skin sore' comes from Old English galla; and the sense of a 'plant swelling' derives from Latin galla ('oak-apple') via Old French.