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gall

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Bitterness of spirit, rancor, or bold impudence; also the fluid secreted by the liver, or a sore caused by chafing, suggesting both metaphorical and physical irritation.

Detailed Definition
As emotion, “gall” denotes resentment; as physical, it’s irritation. In poetry, the two merge—“galled by injustice.” The term’s sharpness suits invective or lament. Poets use it to describe how friction—social, emotional, or moral—wounds the spirit, linking bodily metaphor to psychological pain in narratives of oppression, betrayal, or endurance.
Example
Example in poetry:
"The gall of betrayal burned in his throat," in a tragic lyric; In Shakespeare’s King Lear: "I am a man / More sinned against than sinning"—yet gall is the taste of bitterness; "Her words were honey, but her heart gall"; "Drink the gall of exile," commands the tyrant; "Gall and wormwood mark the path of the outcast"; The poet’s pen dripped gall for injustice.
Additional Notes
“Gall” denotes both bitterness (from bile) and bold impudence; in satirical or dramatic poetry, “galling insults” or “cheekful of gall” merge physical and moral acrimony, often in critiques of power or hypocrisy.
Also Known As
bitterness irritation resentment
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