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gull

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gull

1[guhl]
–noun
any of numerous long-winged, web-toed, aquatic birds of the family Laridae, having usually white plumage with a gray back and wings.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME gulle, perh. < Welsh gŵylan, Cornish guilan (cf. F goéland < Breton gwelan)


gull-like, adjective

gull

2[guhl]
–verb (used with object)
1. to deceive, trick, or cheat.
–noun
2. a person who is easily deceived or cheated; dupe.

Origin:
1540–50; perh. akin to obs. gull to swallow, guzzle


1. cozen, dupe, fool, bamboozle, hoodwink.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gull
gull 1   (gŭl)   
n.  Any of various chiefly coastal aquatic birds of the family Laridae, having long wings, webbed feet, a thick, slightly hooked beak, and usually gray and white plumage.

[Middle English gulle, possibly of Brythonic origin.]
gull 2   (gŭl)   
n.  A person who is easily tricked or cheated; a dupe.
tr.v.   gulled, gull·ing, gulls
To deceive or cheat.

[Probably from gull, to swallow (obsolete), from Middle English golen, to pretend to swallow, from gole, throat, perhaps from Old French goule; see gullet.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gull 
c.1430 (in a cook book), probably from Brythonic Celtic, cf. Welsh gwylan "gull," Cornish guilan, Breton goelann; all from O.Celt. *voilenno-. Replaced O.E. mæw.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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