n.
‘spot of impurity, filth, impurity’ (Modern English gall)
PGmc Ancestor
*gall-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
galli ‘defect, flaw’
(ONP galli (sb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Icel galli, Dan galle, OSw galle
OE Cognate
WS gealla (Angl *galla) ‘a galled place on the skin’
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
CC3c
MED’s senses (2a) and (2b), ‘stain, impurity’ and ‘worthless person’ are only attested in Pe, Cl and Pa. Sense (1) is attested more broadly (incl. Chaucer and Lydgate) and correlates more obviously with that of the OE word. The place-name element (see MED, EPNE) occurs in Nhp. and War. as well as Not., Der. And Cmb.
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Pe 189, 915, 1060; Cl 1022, 1525; Pat 285
Anderson argues against, e.g. MED, identifying the instances at Cl 1525 with this lexeme.