# gale

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɡeɪl/ · frequency rank #12,607

## Definitions
1. To cry; groan; croak.
2. To talk.
3. To sing; utter with musical modulations.

## Etymology
From Middle English galen, from Old English galan (“to sing, enchant, call, cry, scream; sing charms, practice incantation”), from Proto-Germanic *galaną (“to roop, sing, charm”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (“to shout, scream, charm away”). Cognate with Danish gale (“to crow”), Swedish gala (“to crow”), Icelandic gala (“to sing, chant, crow”), Dutch galm (“echo, sound, noise”). Related to yell.

## Easily confused with
- **ge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-ge)
- **GL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gl)
- **gas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gas)
- **Gay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gay)
- **gap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gap)
- **gel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gel)
- **gee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gee)
- **Gil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gil)
- **GAO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gao)
- **gan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gan)
- **gar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gar)
- **GRE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gre)
- **Gaz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gaz)
- **gul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gul)
- **gat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gat)
- **gam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gam)
- **GLO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-glo)
- **GOL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-gol)
- **game** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-game)
- **give** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gale-vs-give)

## Common misspellings (4)
`agle`, `galle`, `ggale`, `glae`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gale