gal

See also: Gal, GAL, Gâl, Gál, gäl, gal., -gal, gal-, Gal., and Gał

㏿ U+33FF, ㏿ SQUARE GAL ← ㏾ [U+33FE] CJK Compatibility 㐀 → [U+3400]

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡæl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æl

Etymology 1

From gallon.

Noun

gal (plural gal or gals)

1. Abbreviation of gallon.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Jamaican Creole gyal (“girl”), from English girl.

Noun

gal (plural gals)

1. (colloquial) A young woman.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:girl

   Coordinate term: guy

Derived terms

• attagal
• best gal
• galpal, gal pal
• wise gal

Related terms

• galge
• kogal

Descendants

• → Icelandic: gella
• → Japanese: ギャル (gyaru)
  • → English: gyaru

Etymology 3

Shortened from galileo.

Noun

gal (plural gals, symbol Gal)

1. A galileo (unit of acceleration).

See also

(etymologically unrelated terms containing "gal"):

• gal-iron
• X-gal

Anagrams

• AGL, ALG, Alg., GLA, LAG, LGA, lag

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch gal. Cognate to English gall.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gal (uncountable)

1. The bodily fluid bile

Bouyei

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *p.qaːᴬ (“leg”). Cognate with Thai ขา (kǎa), Northern Thai ᨡᩣ, Lao ຂາ (khā), Lü ᦃᦱ (ẋaa), Shan ၶႃ (khǎa), Tai Nüa ᥑᥣᥴ (xáa), Ahom 𑜁𑜡 (khā), Zhuang ga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka˨˦/

Noun

gal

1. (anatomy) leg; foot

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɡal]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

gal (feminine gal·la, masculine plural gals, feminine plural gal·les)

1. Gaulish, Gallic (of or pertaining to Gaul)

   Synonym: gàl·lic

Noun

gal m (plural gals, feminine gal·la)

1. Gaul (a person from Gaul)

Noun

gal m (uncountable)

1. Gaulish (Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul)

   Synonym: gàl·lic

Related terms

• gal·li
• Gàl·lia

Further reading

• “gal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “gal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “gal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “gal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chinese

Etymology

Short for galgame, borrowed from Japanese ギャルゲーム (gyaru gēmu), which is wasei eigo (和製英語; pseudo-anglicism), derived from gal +‎ game.

Noun

gal

1. (ACG, video games) galge (video or computer game centered around interactions with attractive anime-style girls)

   推gal  ―  tuī gal  ―  to play galge

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaːˀl/, [ˈɡ̊æˀl]

Etymology 1

From Old Danish galæn, from Old Norse galinn (“enchanted, mad”), a past participle of gala (“to sing, chant”) (Danish gale (“to crow”)).

Adjective

gal (neuter galt, plural and definite singular attributive gale)

1. crazy, mad, insane (mentally ill)
2. mad, angry (showing temper)
3. wrong (not the right one)
4. bad

References

• “gale,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gal (“shouting”), derived from the verb gala (“to sing, chant”) (Danish gale (“to crow”)).

Noun

gal n (singular definite galet, plural indefinite gal)

1. crow (the sound of a cock)

Declension

Declension of gal

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gal	galet	gal	galene
genitive	gals	galets	gals	galenes

References

• “gale,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

gal

1. imperative of gale

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɑl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: gal
• Rhymes: -ɑl

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch galle, from Old Dutch galla, from Proto-Germanic *gallō.

Noun

gal f (uncountable)

1. bile, gall (yellow-green bodily fluid secreted by the liver)
2. bile, anger, wrath

Derived terms

• galblaas
• galsteen
• vergallen
• zwartgallig

Descendants

• Afrikaans: gal
• Berbice Creole Dutch: gali
• Negerhollands: gal
• → Papiamentu: hal, gal

Etymology 2

Een gal op een brandnetel veroorzaakt door Puccinia urticata (brandnetelroest).

Ultimately from Latin galla. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

gal f (plural gallen, diminutive galletje n)

1. a gall (abnormal growth on a plant caused by foreign organisms)

Derived terms

• galappel
• galnoot
• galwesp

Further reading

• gal on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Anagrams

• alg, lag

Emilian

Emiliano-Romagnolo Wikipedia has an article on:

gal

Wikipedia ^eml

Etymology

From Latin gallus.

Noun

gal m

1. cock

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gal m (plural gals)

1. a unit of acceleration equal to one centimetre per second per second

Hamer-Banna

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡál/, [ɡál̥]

Noun

gal

1. enemy

   koró róshon gállo tê, koró gal wánane

   these aren't the 'sling' enemies, these are diffferent enemies

2. Amhara (a member of a Semitic people of Ethiopia)

Usage notes

In the sense of "Amhara," preceded by háilesellási (“Haile Selassie”), referring to the former emperor of Ethiopia:

háilesellási gállo báakorra mɛ́ɛ gɛ́labanshet

the Amhara are running down from Baako to Dhaasanac

(literally, “the 'Haile Selassie' enemies are running and going from Baako to Dhaasanac”)

References

• Petrollino, Sara (2016) A Grammar of Hamar: A South Omotic language of Ethiopia‎, Leiden University, pages 231, 259, 303

Icelandic

Etymology

From gala (“to crow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

Noun

gal n (genitive singular gals, no plural)

1. crowing (of a rooster)
2. yelling

Declension

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	gal	galið
accusative	gal	galið
dative	gali	galinu
genitive	gals	galsins

Declension of gal (sg-only neuter)

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish gal, from Proto-Celtic *galā (“ability”) (compare Welsh gallu (“be able”)).

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Aran) IPA^(key): /ɡɑl̪ˠ/
• (Cois Fharraige, Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /ɡalˠ/, /ɡal̪ˠ/

Noun

gal f or m (genitive singular gaile, nominative plural gala)

1. warlike ardor
2. valor, fury
3. vapor, steam
4. boiling heat
5. puff, whiff (of smoke, hot air)
6. fit, bout, turn
7. demand

Declension

Declension of gal (second declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative gal gala vocative a ghal a ghala genitive gaile gal dative gal gala forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an ghal na gala genitive na gaile na ngal dative leis an ngal don ghal leis na gala

Derived terms

• láth gaile
• tuirbín gaile (“steam turbine”)

Noun

gal m (genitive singular gail, nominative plural gala)

1. blusterer

   Synonyms: bliústar, bolscaire, galach

Declension

Declension of gal (first declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative gal g~a vocative a ghail a ghala genitive gail gal dative gal g~a forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an gal na g~a genitive an ghail na ngal dative leis an ngal don ghal leis na g~a

Mutation

Mutated forms of gal

radical	lenition	eclipsis
gal	ghal	ngal

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “gal”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 gal”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “gal”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “gal”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025
• Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 65

Lithuanian

Etymology

A shortening derived from "gali (“it may”) būti (“be”)".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡaːl]

Conjunction

gál

1. maybe, perhaps

   Synonym: galbūt

Middle English

Alternative forms

• gol

Etymology

From Old English gāl (“lustful, wanton”), from Proto-West Germanic *gail, from Proto-Germanic *gailaz.

Adjective

gal (Early Middle English)

1. lascivious, lustful
   • c. 1225, “Oðer dale: fif ƿittes”, in Ancrene Ƿiſſe (MS. Corpus Christi 402)‎, Herefordshire, published c. 1235, folio 15, verso; republished at Cambridge: Parker Library on the Web, 2018 January:

     naƿt ane euch fleſchlich hondlunge: ah ȝetten euch gal ƿoꝛd: iſ ladlich vilainie […]

     Not just each amorous caress, but even each lustful word is revolting depravity […]

   • Sweche pinen he þolien schal þat her wes of his fles ful gal And wolde louien his fleses wil. — Eleven Pains of Hell, 1300
2. overly fond of

   Gripes freteþ hoere mawen And hoere inward everuidel, Ne be þe þarof no so gal, Eft hoe werpeþ al in al. — Eleven Pains of Hell, 1300

Derived terms

• galich, gollich (“lustful, lascivious”)
• galnesse, golnesse (“lustfulness, lasciviousness”)

References

• “gōl, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Nalca

Noun

gal

1. tree

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse galinn, from gala (“sing bewitching songs, in actuality bewitched by magical singing”).

Adjective

gal (neuter singular galt, definite singular and plural gale, comparative galere, indefinite superlative galest, definite superlative galeste)

1. insane; crazy; out of one's mind; mad
2. incorrect; erroneous; wrong; illegal; morally reproachable

Derived terms

• galehus
• galskap
• (insane; crazy): stormannsgal
• (with a very strong interest in): bilgal, fartsgal, guttegal, jentegal, sexgal
• (phrases): bære galt av sted, det er aldri så galt at det ikke er godt for noe, gå galt, riv ruskende gal, vill og gal

Etymology 2

Related to the verb gale.

Noun

gal n (definite singular galet, indefinite plural gal, definite plural gala or galene)

1. crow ((instance of) rooster's crowing)

Derived terms

• hanegal

Related terms

• nattergal

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

gal

1. imperative of gale

References

• “gal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Anagrams

• lag, gla

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From gala (“to howl”).

Noun

gal n (definite singular galet, indefinite plural gal, definite plural gala)

1. a crow, howl, scream

Related terms

• galing f

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Proper noun

gal (upper case Gal)

1. Abbreviation of galatarbrevet.

Etymology 3

Possibly from English. An abbreviation.

Symbol

gal

1. symbol used to represent a gallon

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

gal

1. imperative of gala

References

• “gal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Etymology 5

Adjective

gal (masculine and feminine gal, neuter galt, definite singular and plural gale, comparative galare, indefinite superlative galast, definite superlative galaste)

1. (nonstandard) galen

Etymology 6

Noun

gal m

1. (eye dialect spelling, Trøndelag dialect, Eastern Norway) Alternative spelling of gard (“farm”)

Anagrams

• Gal, gla, lag

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin gallus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (East Vivaro-Alpine) [ˈdʒal]^[1]
• IPA^(key): (Provençal) [ˈɡau̯]
• IPA^(key): (East Languedocien) [ˈɡal]
• IPA^(key): (West Languedocien) [ˈɡal]

• Audio (West Languedoc):

  (file)

Noun

gal m (plural gals)

1. A cock, rooster

Related terms

• galhar
• galina

References

• Müller, Daniela. 2011. Developments of the lateral in Occitan dialects and their Romance and cross-linguistic context. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Toulouse.

1. Müller 2011: 43. Likewise for the other three pronunciations.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gail.

Cognate with Old Saxon gēl, Dutch geil (“salacious, lustful”), Old High German geil (German geil (“lustful”)), Old Norse geiligr (“beautiful”). The Indo-European root may also be the source of Lithuanian gailùs (“sharp, biting”), Russian зело́ (zeló, “very”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑːl/

Adjective

gāl (comparative gālra, superlative gālost)

1. wanton, lustful; wicked
   • And se Iouis wearð swa swyðe gal þæt he on his agenre swyster gewifode.

     And Jove became so depraved that he married his own sister.

     (Wulfstan, De Falsis Deis)

Declension

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	gāl	gāl	gāl
Accusative	gālne	gāle	gāl
Genitive	gāles	gālre	gāles
Dative	gālum	gālre	gālum
Instrumental	gāle	gālre	gāle
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	gāle	gāla, gāle	gāl
Accusative	gāle	gāla, gāle	gāl
Genitive	gālra	gālra	gālra
Dative	gālum	gālum	gālum
Instrumental	gālum	gālum	gālum

Declension of gāl — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	gāla	gāle	gāle
Accusative	gālan	gālan	gāle
Genitive	gālan	gālan	gālan
Dative	gālan	gālan	gālan
Instrumental	gālan	gālan	gālan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	gālan	gālan	gālan
Accusative	gālan	gālan	gālan
Genitive	gālra, gālena	gālra, gālena	gālra, gālena
Dative	gālum	gālum	gālum
Instrumental	gālum	gālum	gālum

Declension of gāl — Weak

Descendants

• Middle English: gal, gol
  • English: gole (dialectal)

Old French

Alternative forms

• jal

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps from Transalpine Gaulish *gallos.

Noun

gal oblique singular, m (oblique plural gaus or gax or gals, nominative singular gaus or gax or gals, nominative plural gal)

1. a rock

Derived terms

• galeit
  • French: galet, galette
  • Norman: galet, galette, galiche, galot

References

• “galet”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• Nouveau Petit Larousse illustré. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1952, 146th edition

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *galā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡal/

Noun

gal f (genitive gaile)

1. ardor
2. fury
3. valor
   • c. 760 Blathmac mac Con Brettan, published in "A study of the lexicon of the poems of Blathmac Son of Cú Brettan" (2017; PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth), edited and with translations by Siobhán Barrett, stanza 130

     Co rígaib ránaib cét ngal   co láthib do·ruíchetar.

     With the noble kings of a hundred feats of valour,   they have taken revenge with warriors.

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	galL	gailL	galaH
vocative	galL	gailL	galaH
accusative	gailN	gailL	galaH
genitive	gaileH	galL	galN
dative	gailL	galaib	galaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

(Unclassified terms derived from gal):

• congal
• ecal
• esgal
• fingal

Many derivatives of gal serve as verbal nouns to compounds of fichid (“to fight”).

(Verbal nouns derived from gal):

• dígal
• fogal
• imdegal
• irgal
• togal

Gal is also a common as the second element of male given names in Old Irish. Despite all these given names being male, they inherit gal's feminine ā-stem declension.

(Given names derived from gal):

• Áedgal
• Ailgal
• Artgal
• Bodbgal
• Congal
• Cuithgal
• Donngal
• Dúngal
• Échtgal
• Éitgal
• Fergal
• Fidgal
• Gormgal
• Lergal
• Móengal
• Murgal
• Nárgal
• Rudgal
• Sóergal
• Tnúthgal
• Úargal

Descendants

• Middle Irish: gal
  • Irish: gal
  • Scottish Gaelic: gal

Mutation

Mutation of gal

radical	lenition	nasalization
gal	gal pronounced with /ɣ(ʲ)-/	ngal

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “gal”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Old Norse

Verb

gal

1. second-person singular present active imperative of gala

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

gal

Wikipedia ^pl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: gal
• Homophone: Gal

Etymology 1

From Latin.

Noun

Chemical element
Ga
Previous: cynk (Zn)
Next: german (Ge)

gal m inan

1. gallium

Declension

	singular
nominative	gal
genitive	galu
dative	galowi
accusative	gal
instrumental	galem
locative	galu
vocative	galu

Declension of gal

Etymology 2

Named in honour of Galileo Galilei

Noun

gal m inan

1. A galileo

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	gal	gale
genitive	gala	gali
dative	galowi	galom
accusative	gal	gale
instrumental	galem	galami
locative	galu	galach
vocative	galu	gale

Declension of gal

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

gal

1. genitive plural of gala

Further reading

• gal in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• gal in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Rohingya

Alternative forms

• 𐴒𐴝𐴓𐴢 (gal) — Hanifi Rohingya script

Noun

gal (Hanifi spelling 𐴒𐴝𐴓𐴢)

1. mouth

Romagnol

FWOTD – 21 April 2013

Etymology

From Latin găllum (“rooster”), accusative of Latin gallus (“rooster”).

Pronunciation

• (Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈɡaɐ̯l]

• (Ville Unite):

Noun

gal m (plural ghël)

1. rooster (male domestic fowl)

   September 2012, Loris Pasini, E’ gal in la Ludla, il Papiro, page 15:

   E’ gal.

   The rooster.

References

• Masotti, Adelmo (1996) Vocabolario Romagnolo Italiano [Romagnol-Italian dictionary] (in Italian), Bologna: Zanichelli, page 246

Romanian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin Gallus.

Noun

gal m (plural gali)

1. a Gaul

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French gal.

Noun

gal m (plural gali)

1. (physics) unit of measurement of acceleration, equal to 1 centimeter per second squared

See also

• gâl

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡ̊al̪ˠ/^[1]
• (Skye) IPA^(key): /ɡ̊ul̪ˠ/^[2]

Noun

gal m (genitive singular gail, plural gail)

1. verbal noun of gail (“cry, weep”)
2. (act of) crying, wailing
3. wail

Etymology 2

From Old Irish gal (“warlike ardour, fury, valour”).

Noun

gal m (genitive singular gail, plural gail)

1. burst of light/heat
2. ardour
3. valour
4. fury
5. vapour, steam

Mutation

Mutation of gal

radical	lenition
gal	ghal

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

1. Oftedal, M. (1956) A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
2. Rev. C. M. Robertson (1902) “Skye Gaelic”, in Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, Volume XXIII: 1898-99‎, Gaelic Society of Inverness, pages 54-88

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “gal”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 gal”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• gȃo

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *galъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡâːl/
• Hyphenation: gal

Adjective

gȃl (Cyrillic spelling га̑л)

1. (dated) black, dark (physical attributes)
2. (dated) dark fur

Synonyms

• cȓn
• mȑk

Derived terms

• gàljan

Related terms

• gȁlica

Somali

Verb

gal

1. enter

   musqusha gal ― enter the toilet

Sumerian

Romanization

gal

1. Romanization of 𒃲 (gal)

Swedish

Verb

gal

1. inflection of gala:
   1. present indicative
   2. imperative

Anagrams

• alg, lag

Zou

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡal˧/

Noun

gal

1. war

References

• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 44