gallon English · revision 39843

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1225, galun, King Horn|origins=la-med galleta}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɡælən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|galoun]], [[bor|fro-nor|galon]] (the Anglo-Norman [[m|xno|galun]]),^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(ODE 2010) which corresponds to Central Old French [[m|fro|jalon]], a measure for liquids.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) The French word is related to [[m|fro|jale|t=bowl]] and to [[m|fro|jalaie|t=a measure of capacity]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Skeat 1911) and goes back to [[la-med|galleta|t=bucket, pail; a measure of wine]], of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Barnhart and Etymonline suggest it may come from [[xtg|galla|t=vessel]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and several dictionaries call it perhaps Celtic.^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010)^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002) Skeat and Partridge take the French word as an augmentative.^(Skeat 1911)^(Partridge 1966) The same medieval Latin base gave [[ang|ġellet|t=dish, basin]] and [[de|Gelte|t=bucket]].^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921) The modern French [[m|fr|gallon]] is borrowed back from English.^(Klein 1966) Johnson (1755) derived the word from Low Latin.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An English measure of capacity, mainly for liquids: about 1225, spelled ''galun'', in ''King Horn'', in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first quotation is from about 1300,^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates it to the late 13th century and Merriam-Webster to the 13th century.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records the word in Anglo-Norman from the early 13th century, both for the measure and for a gallon jar.^(AND)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English the word also named a vessel for liquids, as in the Wycliffite Bible, where it translates Latin ''lagena'' (a1382–1459);^(OED 2026)^(Weekley 1921) that sense is obsolete.^(OED 2026) Its use as a dry measure for corn, bread and other goods is recorded from 1684,^(OED 2026) and survived in the dialects of Kent, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Cambridgeshire, where potatoes and fruit were sold by the gallon.^(Wright 1898) The figurative plural ''gallons'', a great quantity, is recorded from 1575.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) Johnson (1755) defined it as a liquid measure of four quarts.^(Johnson 1755) The British imperial gallon and the smaller US gallon, based on the old wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, now differ by about a fifth.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024) In Irish slang, ''to get one's gallon'' meant to be dismissed from a job, from the can in which labourers carried their drink.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – ''galun'', in ''King Horn''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – a measure of capacity.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1382 – a vessel for liquids (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1475 – the spelling ''gallon''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1575 – figurative, a large amount.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1684 – a dry measure for corn, bread and similar goods.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[unit]] of liquid capacity equal to four [[quart|alt=quarts]]: the imperial gallon used in Britain is about 4.55 [[litre|alt=litres]], the US gallon about 3.79 litres.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(Britain)'' A unit of dry capacity of the same size, used for grain and similar goods.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(informal, plural)'' A great quantity: ''They drank gallons of coffee during the exam week.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gallonage]]

+ * [[ten-gallon hat]]

+ * [[wine gallon]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[quart]]

+ * [[pint]]

+ * [[gill]]

+ * [[gantry]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ According to Ayto, an early modern dialect form ''gawn'', combined with [[tree]], gave [[gantry]], originally a wooden stand for barrels.^(Ayto 2005)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}