GALL (a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch gal, and Ger. Galle; the Indo-European root appears in Gr. xoXi,, and Lat. fel; possibly connected with " yellow," with reference to the colour of bile)

This article appears in Volume V11, Page 412 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: GAG-GEO

GALL (a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch gal, and Ger. Galle; the Indo-European root appears in Gr. xoXi,, and Lat. fel; possibly connected with " yellow," with reference to the colour of bile) , the secretion of the

liver

LIVER (O. Eng. lifer; cf. cognate forms, Dutch lever, Ger. Leber, Swed. lefver, &c.; the O. H. Ger. forms are libara, lipora, &c.; the Teut. word has been connected with Gr. i'prap and Lat. jecur)

known as " bile," the

term

TERM

being also used of the pear-shaped diverticulum of the bile-duct, which forms a reservoir for the bile, more generally known as the "

gall

-bladder " (see

LIVER

LIVER (O. Eng. lifer; cf. cognate forms, Dutch lever, Ger. Leber, Swed. lefver, &c.; the O. H. Ger. forms are libara, lipora, &c.; the Teut. word has been connected with Gr. i'prap and Lat. jecur)

). From the extreme bitterness of the secretion, "

gall

," like the Lat. fel, is used for anything extremely

bitter

BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867– )

, whether actually or metaphorically. From the idea that the gall-bladder was the dominating organ of a

bitter

BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867– )

sharp

SHARP,
GRANVILLE
- GRANVILLE
- GRANVILLE, GRANVILLE
- GRANVILLE, JOHN
  CARTERET
  - CARTERET, SIR GEORGE (c. 1610-1680)
  , EARL (1690-1763)
(1735-1813)
SHARP, JAMES (1618-1679)
SHARP, JOHN (1645-1714)
SHARP, RICHARD (1759-1835)
SHARP, WILLIAM (1749-1824)
SHARP, WILLIAM (1856-1905)

temperament, " gall " was formerly used in English for such a spirit, and also for one very ready to resent injuries. It thus survives in American

slang

SLANG

, with the meaning " impudence " or " assurance."
" Gall," meaning a sore or painful swelling, especially on a horse, may be the same word, derived from an early use of the word as meaning " poison." On the other hand, in Romanic languages, the Fr. galle, Sp. agalla, a wind-gall or puffy distension of the synovial bursa on the fetlock

joint

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

of a horse, is derived from the Lat. galla, oak-apple, from which comes the English " gall," meaning an excrescence on trees caused by certain insects. (See

GALLS

GALLS

.)

End of Article: GALL (a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch gal, and Ger. Galle; the Indo-European root appears in Gr. xoXi,, and Lat. fel; possibly connected with " yellow," with reference to the colour of bile)

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