gale
/ɡeɪl/ verb, noun, proper noun
Forms gales galing galed gole galen
- verb (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To cry; groan; croak.
- verb (intransitive, of a person, now chiefly dialectal) To talk.
- verb (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To sing; utter with musical modulations.
- noun (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.”
- noun An outburst, especially of laughter. “a gale of laughter”
- noun (literary, archaic) A light breeze.
- verb (nautical) To sail, or sail fast.
- noun A shrub, also called sweet gale or bog myrtle (Myrica gale), that grows on moors and fens.
- noun (archaic) A periodic payment, such as is made of a rent or annuity. “Gale day - the day on which rent or interest is due.”
- noun The personal mining plot of a freeminer.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A unisex given name.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Alexander County, Illinois.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Center Township, Hendricks County, Indiana.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Upshur County, West Virginia.
- proper noun A town in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin.
Etymology
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.
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”), both from Old Norse gala (“to sing”), and thus ultimately related to the above word (etymology 1).
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”).
From Middle English gavel (“rent; tribute”), from Old English gafol.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A strong current of air; a wind between a stiff breeze and a hurricane. The most violent gales are called tempests.
- noun A moderate current of air; a breeze.
- verb To sale, or sail fast.
- A song or story. [Obs.] Toone.
Etymology [Prob. of Scand.. origin; cf. Dan. gal furious, Icel. galinn, cf. Icel. gala to sing, AS. galan to sing, Icel. galdr song, witchcraft, AS. galdor charm, sorcery, E. nightingale; also, Icel. gjla gust of wind, gola breeze. Cf. Yell.]
Etymology [OE. gal. See Gale wind.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gale”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details