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galla

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word galla

Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
c. 180–102 BC, Lucilius

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɡal.la][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɡal.la][1]

Forms

galla f (genitive gallae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain: the OLD marks it as doubtful and the TLL as unknown.[2][3] Köbler, following Pokorny, compares Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”),[4] and Wiktionary gives the same root, comparing glaeba and glomus.[1] Wiktionary also mentions a possible link with, or influence from, Germanic *gallô (“sore, swelling, lesion”) if the sense was “poison-sore”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lucilius is the first to use it, apparently of a sour wine, drinking which puckers the belly.[2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Its usual sense is the gall-nut or oak apple, which was ground and used in medicine and for other purposes;[2][5] Columella and Pliny the Elder mention it.[2][5] The sense of a harsh, inferior wine is recorded by Lucilius and by Festus as reported by Paul the Deacon.[5] Medieval Latin kept the sense gall-nut.[6]

Old English gealla “sore spot on a horse” is probably from the Latin word, and German Galle and Dutch gal are also said to come from it.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it, apparently of a sour wine.[2][4]
  • 1st century AD – Columella mentions gall-nuts.[5][4]
  • AD 23/24–79 – Pliny the Elder writes about the gall-nut.[5][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The gall-nut, oak apple, used ground in medicine and for other purposes.[2][5][6]
  2. A harsh, sour kind of wine.[2][5][1]

Word family

  • gallula
  • English gall

Usage notes

Latin writers made puns on galla and Galla, a Gallic woman.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Galla.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/galla. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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