Galle

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of wound or sore, often one that becomes inflamed and painful
2. referring to a bump or swelling that can occur in various contexts
3. metaphorically, it can describe a source of irritation or annoyance in life

Etymology: Before it meant a nuisance, this word meant bile. Its Old English ancestor "galla" referred to the bitter fluid produced by the liver, and it is related to German "Galle" and to Greek "cholē," the source of "choler." Medieval physicians believed bile governed temperament, so bitterness of spirit came to be called gall, and that sense of bitterness carried into everyday speech. The irritation sense comes from a different image. The verb "to gall" meant to rub the skin raw, and a gall was the resulting sore, especially the kind a saddle caused on a horse's back. Figurative use for mental chafing followed, and the sense of brazen nerve, as in "he had the gall to...", developed later. The spelling "galle" appears in Middle English texts, so it is an older form of the same word rather than a separate one.

Synonyms: bile, gall