Bold impudence; bile produced by the liver; an abnormal growth on plants caused by insects or disease.
From Old English gealla meaning 'bile,' related to Greek chole and Latin fel. The sense of 'impudence' developed from ancient beliefs that bile controlled temperament - excess bile supposedly made one bitter or bold.
Gall perfectly illustrates how ancient medical theories shaped our emotional vocabulary. The connection between liver bile and personality traits seems absurd now, but we still say someone has 'gall' when they're impudent, preserving medieval humoral theory in everyday speech.
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