gall

/ɡɔːl/

//ɡɔːl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gall" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gall” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,605 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#19,605
frequency rank, English
4
letters
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Impudence or brazenness; temerity; chutzpah.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

gall vs GL
0% similar
gall vs gas
50% similar
gall vs Gay
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for gall
PropertyValue
Headwordgall
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɔːl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#19,605
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “gall” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). gall lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for gall is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɔːl/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,605 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for gall, with forms such as "agll", "ggall", and "glal". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GL", "gas", "Gay", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English galle, from Old English ġealla, galla, from Proto-West Germanic *gallā, from Proto-Germanic *gallǭ. The figurative senses (e.g., impudence, brazenness, chutzpah) are related to the literal sense (i.e., bile) via the lasting linguocultura… The correct English form is gall, spelled G-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Impudence or brazenness; temerity; chutzpah.
  2. 2
    A gallbladder.
  3. 3
    Bile, especially that of an animal; the greenish, profoundly bitter-tasting fluid found in bile ducts and gall bladders, structures associated with the liver.
  4. 4
    Great misery or physical suffering, likened to the bitterest-tasting of substances.

Etymology

From Middle English galle, from Old English ġealla, galla, from Proto-West Germanic *gallā, from Proto-Germanic *gallǭ. The figurative senses (e.g., impudence, brazenness, chutzpah) are related to the literal sense (i.e., bile) via the lasting linguocultural effects of humorism, which governed Western medicine for many centuries before the advent of scientific medicine. Related to Dutch gal, German Galle, Swedish galle, galla, Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ). Also remotely related with yellow and gold.

This word in other languages

descaro(Español)culot(Français)Frechheit(Deutsch)miséria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: agll,ggall,glal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gall - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

agll2ggall1glal2
Edit distance from "gall"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gall"?
"gall" is spelled G-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɔːl/.
What does "gall" mean?
As a noun, "gall" means: Impudence or brazenness; temerity; chutzpah.
What words are commonly confused with "gall"?
"gall" is commonly confused with "GL", "gas", "Gay". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gall"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gall" is /ɡɔːl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gall"?
From Middle English galle, from Old English ġealla, galla, from Proto-West Germanic *gallā, from Proto-Germanic *gallǭ. The figurative senses (e.g., impudence, brazenness, chutzpah) are related to the literal sense (i.e., bile) via the lasting lin... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “gall”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-A-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɡɔːl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “GL” - see the side-by-side comparison. gall vs GL
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list