gale - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English galen, from Old English galan (“to sing, enchant, call, cry, scream; sing charms, practice incantation”), from Proto-Germanic *galaną (“to roop, sing, charm”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (“to shout, scream, charm away”). Cognate with Danish gale (“to crow”), Swedish gala (“to crow”), Icelandic gala (“to sing, chant, crow”), Dutch galm (“echo, sound, noise”). Related to yell.

gale (third-person singular simple present gales, present participle galing, simple past galed or gole, past participle galed or gole or galen)

  1. (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To cry; groan; croak.
  2. (intransitive, of a person, now chiefly dialectal) To talk.
  3. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To sing; utter with musical modulations.

From Middle English gale (“a wind, breeze”), possibly from Old English galan, possibly an unknown North Germanic origin, related to Icelandic gola (“a breeze”), Danish gal (“furious, mad”),[1] both from Old Norse gala (“to sing”), and thus ultimately related to the above word (etymology 1).

gale (plural gales)

  1. (meteorology) A very strong wind, more than a breeze, less than a storm; number 7 through to 9 winds on the 12-step Beaufort scale.
    It's blowing a gale outside.
    Many parts of the boat were damaged in the gale.
    • 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xii:
      With my mother's permission and blessings, I set off exultantly for Bombay, leaving my wife with a baby of a few months. But on arrival there, friends told my brother that the Indian Ocean was rough in June and July, and as this was my first voyage, I should not be allowed to sail until November. Someone also reported that a steamer had just been sunk in a gale. This made my brother uneasy, and he refused to take the risk of allowing me to sail immediately.
    • 2026 January 7, 'Mystery Shopper', “Cornish cream - without the jams?”, in RAIL, number 1052, page 48:
      It's blowing a gale and this holiday destination loses all its appeal in an instant in weather like this.
  2. An outburst, especially of laughter.
    a gale of laughter
    • 1972, International Association of Seed Crushers, Congress [proceedings]:
      The slightest hint of smugness would have had the nation leaning over our shoulders to blow out the birthday candles with a gale of reproach and disapproval.
  3. (literary, archaic) A light breeze.

meteorology: a very strong wind

outburst of laughter

gale (third-person singular simple present gales, present participle galing, simple past and past participle galed)

  1. (nautical) To sail, or sail fast.

From Middle English gaile, gawl, gawwyl, gaȝel, gagel, from Old English gagel, gagelle, gagille, gagolle (“gale; sweet gale”), from Proto-West Germanic *gagul, from Proto-Germanic *gagulaz (“gale; sweet-willow”). Cognate with Scots gaul, gall (“bog-myrtle”), Dutch gagel (“wild myrtle”), German Gagel (“myrtle-bush”), Icelandic gaglviður (“sweet-gale; myrtle”).

gale

  1. A shrub, also called sweet gale or bog myrtle (Myrica gale), that grows on moors and fens.

Myrica gale

From Middle English gavel (“rent; tribute”), from Old English gafol.

gale (plural gales)

  1. (archaic) A periodic payment, such as is made of a rent or annuity.
    Gale day - the day on which rent or interest is due.
  2. The personal mining plot of a freeminer.
    • 1875, The Sanitary Record, volume 3, page 384:
      As a rule the free miners do not work their own 'gales,' but dispose of them to capitalists.
  1. ^ Etymology of gale

galé f

  1. corner
Declension of galé
absolutive galé
predicative galé
subjective galé
genitive galé
Postpositioned forms l-case galél k-case galék t-case galét h-case galéh

gale

  1. fish
    Nan gale tek-nak-ey po.
    We've been catching fish.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

gale (comparative galeago, superlative galeen, excessive galeegi)

  1. wanting

gale inan

  1. eagerness, wish

Borrowed from Hiligaynon gali.

galê

  1. (Cotabateño, Zamboangueño) expressing sudden realization; indication of surprise.
    Synonym: (Caviteño, Ternateño) pala

From Old Norse gala (“to sing, crow, chant”), from Proto-Germanic *galaną, cognate with Norwegian gale, Swedish gala, English gale.

gale (past tense galede, or (archaic) gol, past participle galet)

  1. to crow (mostly of the sound of the cock)
  2. to scream

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

gale

  1. definite singular of gal
  2. plural of gal

Variant of galle.

gale f (plural gales)

  1. scabies; mange

gale

  1. inflection of galar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Borrowed from English gale, from Middle English gale (“a wind, breeze”)

gale (plural **gale-gale)

  1. (meteorology) gale

gale f

  1. plural of gala

galè m

  1. locative singular of galas

North Moluccan Malay

[edit]

From Malay gali, from earlier kali, from Proto-Malayic *kali, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali, from Proto-Austronesian *kalih.

gale

  1. (transitive) to dig

From Old Norse gala.

gale (imperative gal, present tense galer, simple past gol or galte, past participle galt)

  1. to make a sound characteristic of a rooster; to crow

gale

  1. definite singular of gal
  2. plural of gal

gale (present tense gjel, past tense gol, supine **gale, past participle galen, present participle galande, imperative gal)

  1. alternative form of gala

gale

  1. neuter singular of galen

gale

  1. first-person singular present indicative of galan

gale

  1. dative/locative singular of gała

gale

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of gala

gale

  1. inflection of galar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Unknown. Possibly from gull.

gale c

  1. (colloquial, Öckerö Municipality) synonym of trut (“large gull”)

Unknown

gale (definite accusative galeyi, plural galeler)

  1. (Antalya) synonym of sincap (“squirrel”)

gale (definite accusative galeyi, plural galeler)

  1. (dialect) alternative form of kale

From Ottoman Turkish غاله (gale), from French galée.

gale (definite accusative galeyi, plural galeler)

  1. (printing) galley