Synonym Game

galling

[gaw-ling] Example Sentences Origin

gall·ing

[gaw-ling]
adjective
that galls; chafing; irritating; vexing; exasperating.

Origin:
1640–50; gall2 + -ing2

gall·ing·ly, adverb
gall·ing·ness, noun
un·gall·ing, adjective

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Galling is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Example Sentences
  • It's galling that so many people still think that's an acceptable form of discourse.
  • He says the sound is a galling drone that can escalate at any time into a peace-shattering and sleep-depriving racket.
  • What has been especially galling has been the cynicism surrounding the efforts to get the toll increases.
EXPAND
Dictionary.com Unabridged

gall

2[gawl]
verb (used with object)
1.
to make sore by rubbing; chafe severely: The saddle galled the horse's back.
2.
to vex or irritate greatly: His arrogant manner galls me.
verb (used without object)
3.
to be or become chafed.
4.
Machinery. (of either of two engaging metal parts) to lose metal to the other because of heat or molecular attraction resulting from friction.
5.
Metallurgy. (of a die or compact in powder metallurgy) to lose surface material through adhesion to the die.
noun
6.
a sore on the skin, especially of a horse, due to rubbing; excoriation.
7.
something very vexing or irritating.
8.
a state of vexation or irritation.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English galle (noun), gallen (v.) perhaps < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German gall, akin to Old English gealla sore on a horse

un·galled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To galling
Collins
World English Dictionary
galling (ˈɡɔːlɪŋ)
 
adj
1.  irritating, exasperating, or bitterly humiliating
2.  obsolete rubbing painfully; chafing
 
'gallingly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gall
"sore spot on a horse," O.E. gealla "painful swelling," from L. galla "gall, lump on plant," originally "oak apple," of uncertain origin. Perhaps from or influenced by gall (1) on notion of "poison-sore." The verb meaning "to make sore by chafing" is from mid-15c.; figurative
EXPAND
sense of "harass, irritate" is from 1570s. Related: Galled; galling.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

gall 2 (gôl)
n.
A skin sore caused by friction and abrasion. v. galled, gall·ing, galls
To become irritated, chafed, or sore.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
gall   (gôl)  Pronunciation Key 
An abnormal swelling of plant tissue, caused by injury or by parasitic organisms such as insects, mites, nematodes, and bacteria. Parasites stimulate the production of galls by secreting chemical irritants on or in the plant tissue. Galls stimulated by egg-laying parasites typically provide a protective environment in which the eggs can hatch and the pupae develop, and they usually do only minor damage to the host plant. Gall-stimulating fungi and microorganisms, such as the bacterium that causes crown gall, are generally considered to be plant diseases.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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