Adjacent Words

Gall definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GALL, n. [Gr. probably from its color.]
1. In the animal economy, the bile, a bitter, a yellowish green fluid, secreted in the glandular substance of the liver. It is glutinous or imperfectly fluid, like oil.
2. Any thing extremely bitter.
3. Rancor; malignity.
4. Anger; bitterness of mind.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an open sore on the back of a horse caused by ill-fitting or badly adjusted saddle [syn: saddle sore, gall]
2: a skin sore caused by chafing
3: abnormal swelling of plant tissue caused by insects or microorganisms or injury
4: a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will [syn: resentment, bitterness, gall, rancor, rancour]
5: a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats [syn: bile, gall]
6: the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties [syn: crust, gall, impertinence, impudence, insolence, cheekiness, freshness] v
1: become or make sore by or as if by rubbing [syn: chafe, gall, fret]
2: irritate or vex; "It galls me that we lost the suit" [syn: gall, irk]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English gealla; akin to Greek chol?, cholos gall, wrath, Old English geolu yellow — more at yellow Date: before 12th century 1. a. bile; especially bile obtained from an animal and used in the arts or medicine b. something bitter to endure c. bitterness of spirit ; rancor 2. brazen boldness coupled with impudent assurance and insolence Synonyms: see temerity II. noun Etymology: Middle English galle, from Old English gealla, from Latin galla gallnut Date: before 12th century 1. a. a skin sore caused by chronic irritation b. a cause or state of exasperation 2. archaic flaw III. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to fret and wear away by friction ; chafe <the loose saddle galled the horse's back> <the galling of a metal bearing> 2. irritate, vex <sarcasm galls her> intransitive verb 1. to become sore or worn by rubbing 2. seize 2 IV. noun Etymology: Middle English galle, from Anglo-French, from Latin galla Date: 14th century an abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue usually due to insect or mite parasites or fungi and sometimes forming an important source of tannin — see gall wasp illustration

Britannica Concise

Abnormal, localized outgrowth or swelling of plant tissue caused by infection from bacteria, fungi, viruses, or nematodes, or by irritation by insects and mites. The common plant disease crown gall, characterized by the proliferation of galls on the roots and lower stems, is caused by the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 sl. impudence. 2 asperity, rancour. 3 bitterness; anything bitter (gall and wormwood). 4 the bile of animals. 5 the gall-bladder and its contents. Phrases and idioms: gall-bladder the vessel storing bile after its secretion by the liver and before release into the intestine. Etymology: ON, corresp. to OE gealla, f. Gmc 2. n. & v. --n. 1 a sore on the skin made by chafing. 2 a mental soreness or vexation. b a cause of this. 3 a place rubbed bare. --v.tr. 1 rub sore; injure by rubbing. 2 vex, annoy, humiliate. Derivatives: gallingly adv. Etymology: ME f. LG or Du. galle, corresp. to OE gealla sore on a horse 3. n. 1 a growth produced by insects or fungus etc. on plants and trees, esp. on oak. 2 (attrib.) of insects producing galls (gall-fly). Etymology: ME f. OF galle f. L galla

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gall Gall, n. [F. galle, noix de galle, fr. L. galla.] (Zo["o]l.) 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. Note: The galls, or gallnuts, of commerce are produced by insects of the genus Cynips, chiefly on an oak (Quercus infectoria or Lusitanica) of Western Asia and Southern Europe. They contain much tannin, and are used in the manufacture of that article and for making ink and a black dye, as well as in medicine. Gall insect (Zo["o]l.), any insect that produces galls. Gall midge (Zo["o]l.), any small dipterous insect that produces galls. Gall oak, the oak (Quercus infectoria) which yields the galls of commerce. Gall of glass, the neutral salt skimmed off from the surface of melted crown glass;- called also glass gall and sandiver. --Ure. Gall wasp. (Zo["o]l.) See Gallfly.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gall Gall, n.[OE. galle, gal, AS. gealla; akin to D. gal, OS. & OHG. galla, Icel. gall, SW. galla, Dan. galde, L. fel, Gr. ?, and prob. to E. yellow. ? See Yellow, and cf. Choler] 1. (Physiol.) 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. The gall bladder. 3. Anything extremely bitter; bitterness; rancor. He hath . . . compassed me with gall and travail. --Lam. iii. 5. Comedy diverted without gall. --Dryden. 4. Impudence; brazen assurance. [Slang] Gall bladder (Anat.), the membranous sac, in which the bile, or gall, is stored up, as secreted by the liver; the cholecystis. See Illust. of Digestive apparatus. Gall duct, a duct which conveys bile, as the cystic duct, or the hepatic duct. Gall sickness, a remitting bilious fever in the Netherlands. --Dunglison. Gall of the earth (Bot.), an herbaceous composite plant with variously lobed and cleft leaves, usually the Prenanthes serpentaria.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gall Gall, v. t. (Dyeing) To impregnate with a decoction of gallnuts. --Ure.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gall Gall, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Galled; p. pr. & vb. n. Galling.] [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.] 1. 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. I am loth to gall a new-healed wound. --Shak. 2. To fret; to vex; as, to be galled by sarcasm. They that are most galled with my folly, They most must laugh. --Shak. 3. To injure; to harass; to annoy; as, the troops were galled by the shot of the enemy. In our wars against the French of old, we used to gall them with our longbows, at a greater distance than they could shoot their arrows. --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gall Gall, v. i. To scoff; to jeer. [R.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gall Gall, n. A wound in the skin made by rubbing.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(galls, galling, galled) 1. If you say that someone has the gall to do something, you are criticizing them for behaving in a rude or disrespectful way. She had the gall to suggest that I might supply her with information about what Steve was doing. = nerve N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n, the N to-inf [disapproval] 2. If someone's action galls you, it makes you feel very angry or annoyed, often because it is unfair to you and you cannot do anything about it. It must have galled him that Bardo thwarted each of these measures... It was their serenity which galled her most. VERB: it V n that, V n, also it V n to-inf • galling It was especially galling to be criticised by this scoundrel. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ 3. A gall is a growth on the surface of a plant that is caused by an insect, disease, fungus, or injury. N-COUNT

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1) Heb. mererah, meaning "bitterness" (Job 16:13); i.e., the bile secreted in the liver. This word is also used of the poison of asps (20:14), and of the vitals, the seat of life (25).

(2.) Heb. rosh. In Deut. 32:33 and Job 20:16 it denotes the poison of serpents. In Hos. 10:4 the Hebrew word is rendered "hemlock." The original probably denotes some bitter, poisonous plant, most probably the poppy, which grows up quickly, and is therefore coupled with wormwood (Deut. 29:18; Jer. 9:15; Lam. 3:19). Comp. Jer. 8:14; 23:15, "water of gall," Gesenius, "poppy juice;" others, "water of hemlock," "bitter water."

(3.) Gr. chole (Matt. 27:34), the LXX. translation of the Hebrew _rosh_ in Ps. 69; 21, which foretells our Lord's sufferings. The drink offered to our Lord was vinegar (made of light wine rendered acid, the common drink of Roman soldiers) "mingled with gall," or, according to Mark (15:23), "mingled with myrrh;" both expressions meaning the same thing, namely, that the vinegar was made bitter by the infusion of wormwood or some other bitter substance, usually given, according to a merciful custom, as an anodyne to those who were crucified, to render them insensible to pain. Our Lord, knowing this, refuses to drink it. He would take nothing to cloud his faculties or blunt the pain of dying. He chooses to suffer every element of woe in the bitter cup of agony given him by the Father (John 18:11).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gol:

(1) ro'sh, or rosh (De 32:32 only, "grapes of gall"): Some very bitter plant, the bitterness as in (2) being associated with the idea of poison. De 29:18 margin "rosh, a poisonpus herb"; La 3:5,19; Jer 8:14; 9:15; 23:15, "water of gall," margin "poison"; Ho 10:4, translated "hemlock"; Am 6:12, "Ye have turned justice into gall"; Job 20:16, the "poison of asps": here rosh clearly refers to a different substance from the other references, the points in common being bitterness and poisonous properties. Hemlock (Conium maculatum), colocynth (Citrullus colocynthus) and the poppy (Papaver somniferum) have all been suggested as the original rosh, the last having most support, but in most references the word may represent any bitter poisonous substance. Rosh is associated with la`anah, "wormwood" (De 29:18; La 3:19; Am 6:12).

(2) mererah (Job 16:13), and merorah (Job 20:14,25), both derived from a root meaning "to be bitter," are applied to the human gall or "bile," but like (1), merorah is once applied to the venom of serpents (Job 20:14). The poison of these animals was supposed to reside in their bile.

(3) chole (Mt 27:34), "They gave him wine to drink mingled with gall"; this is clearly a reference to the Septuagint version of Ps 69:21: "They gave me also gall (chole, Hebrew rosh) for my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." In Mr 15:23, it says, "wine mingled with myrrh." It is well known that the Romans gave wine with frankincense to criminals before their execution to alleviate their sufferings; here the chole or bitter substance used was myrrh (Pliny Ep. xx.18; Sen. Ep. 83).

E. W. G. Masterman

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. (Anat.) Bile. 2. Bitterness, rancor, acerbity, spite, malice, maliciousness, malignity. 3. Nutgall, gall-nut. II. v. a. 1. Chafe, fret, excoriate, hurt by rubbing. 2. Provoke, vex, irritate, tease, exasperate, incense, affront, harass, annoy, plague, sting.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

His gall is not yet broken; a saying used in prisons of a man just brought in, who appears dejected.

Moby Thesaurus

ablate, abrade, abrase, abrasion, acerbity, acid, acidity, acidulousness, acridity, acridness, acrimony, afflict, affliction, aggravate, aggravation, agonize, ail, anger, animosity, annoy, annoyance, arouse, arrogance, asperity, astringence, astringency, audacity, autacoid, bad humor, bad temper, badger, balls, bark, bedevil, bile, bilge, biliousness, bite, bitter cup, bitter draft, bitter draught, bitter pill, bitter resentment, bitterness, bitterness of spirit, blain, bleb, blemish, blister, blob, bloody, boss, bother, bow, brashness, brass, brazen boldness, brazenness, break, bubble, bulb, bulge, bulla, bump, bunch, burden, burden of care, burl, burn, burn up, button, cahot, cankerworm of care, care, causticity, causticness, chafe, chalone, check, cheek, chide, chine, chip, choler, chutzpah, claw, clump, conceit, concussion, condyle, confidence, convex, convulse, corrosiveness, crack, crackle, craze, cross, crown of thorns, crucify, crust, curse, cut, digestive secretion, discontent, distress, disturb, dowel, ear, effrontery, embitterment, encumbrance, endocrine, enrage, erase, erode, exacerbate, exacerbation, exasperate, exasperation, excoriate, excruciate, exercise, face, fester, file, flange, flap, flash burn, fracture, fray, frazzle, fret, front, gall and wormwood, gash, gastric juice, get, give pain, gnarl, gnashing of teeth, gnaw, gnaw away, goad, grate, grate on, gravel, graze, grievance, grind, gripe, grit, guts, handle, harass, hard feelings, harrow, harry, harshness, haughtiness, heartburning, hector, heroics, hill, hormone, hubris, hump, hunch, hurt, ill humor, ill nature, ill temper, impertinence, improvidence, imprudence, impudence, incense, incise, incision, indiscretion, inflame, inflict pain, infliction, infuriate, injudiciousness, injure, injury, insolence, intestinal juice, irk, irritant, irritate, irritation, jog, joggle, kill by inches, knob, knot, knur, knurl, lacerate, laceration, lesion, lip, load, loftiness, loop, lordliness, lump, maim, make mincemeat of, martyr, martyrize, maul, mole, mordacity, mortal wound, mountain, moxie, mucus, mutilate, mutilation, nag, needle, nerve, nettle, nevus, nip, nub, nubbin, nubble, nuisance, oppression, overbearance, overboldness, overcarelessness, overconfidence, oversureness, overweeningness, pack of troubles, pain, pancreatic juice, papilloma, peck of troubles, peg, pester, pierce, pinch, plague, poison, pomposity, presumption, prick, pride, priggishness, prolong the agony, prostatic fluid, provocation, provoke, puncture, pungency, put to torture, rack, rancidity, rancidness, rancor, rankle, rankling, rashness, rasp, raze, rend, rent, rheum, rib, ridge, rile, ring, rip, roil, rub, rub away, rub off, rub out, ruffle, run, rupture, salivary secretion, sauce, sauciness, savage, scald, scorch, score, scotch, scour, scrape, scratch, scrub, scuff, sea of troubles, second-degree burn, self-importance, semen, set on edge, sharpness, shoulder, skin, slash, slit, slow burn, smugness, sore, sore spot, soreness, sorrow, sourness, sperm, spine, spleen, sprain, stab, stab wound, stick, sting, strain, stud, style, tab, tartness, tear, tears, temerariousness, temerity, third-degree burn, thorn, thyroxin, torment, torture, trauma, traumatize, trouble, tubercle, tubercule, tweak, twist, unchariness, unwariness, venom, venomousness, verruca, vesicle, vex, vexation, virulence, vitriol, wale, wart, waters of bitterness, wear, wear away, weight, welt, woe, worry, wound, wounds immedicable, wrench, wring