Hypertext Webster Gateway: "gall"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Gall
(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).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gall \Gall\, v. t. (Dyeing)
To impregnate with a decoction of gallnuts. --Ure.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gall \Gall\, v. i.
To scoff; to jeer. [R.] --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gall \Gall\, n.
A wound in the skin made by rubbing.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
gall
n 1: an open sore on the back of a horse caused by ill-fitting or
badly adjusted saddle [syn: {saddle sore}]
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}, {rancor}, {rancour}]
5: a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the
gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats [syn: {bile}]
6: the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take
liberties [syn: {crust}, {impertinence}, {impudence}, {insolence},
{cheekiness}, {freshness}]
v 1: become or make sore by or as if by rubbing [syn: {chafe}, {fret}]
2: irritate or vex; "It galls me that we lost the suit" [syn: {irk}]
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