gell

gell (plural gells)

1. Pronunciation spelling of girl.
   • 1861, George Eliot, “Chapter 14”, in Silas Marner:

     Well, mayhap that'll do, as it's a little gell, for they're easier persuaded to sit i' one place nor the lads.

   • 1906, Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children, Chapter 4: "The engine-burglar":

     "You're a naughty little gell, that's what you are," said the fireman, and the engine-driver said:--

     "Daring little piece, I call her," but they made her sit down on an iron seat in the cab and told her to stop crying and tell them what she meant by it.

gell (plural gells)

1. Alternative form of gill (“a leech”).

gell

1. soft mutation of kell

gell

1. brown

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛlː/

From Proto-Celtic *gello- (“yellow”) or *gelo- (“white”) (compare Middle Welsh gell (“yellow”), Old Irish gel (“white, fair, shining”), whence Irish geal (“white, bright”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“gleam, yellow”) (compare English yellow, Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós, “light green”), Latin helvus (“dull yellow”), Lithuanian žalias (“green”), Persian زر (zar, “yellow”), Sanskrit हरि (hari, “greenish-yellow”), Welsh gwelw (“pale”)).

gell

1. light brown, tan, fawn

   gell:  

• gorm (“dark brown”)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

gell

1. soft mutation of kell

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛl

From gellen.

gell (strong nominative masculine singular geller, comparative geller, superlative am gellsten)

1. (literary) shrill

Clipping of gelt es, from gelten (“to be valid”).

gell

1. (colloquial, regional, Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, South Tyrol, Liechtenstein, Alsace) emphasis and question marker particle; asks for confirmation; right?; eh?; isn't it, innit?

   Synonyms: oder, (Chiefly Northwestern Germany) ne, (Eastern Germany) wa; see also Thesaurus:nicht wahr

   Wir gehen, gell? ― We’re going, aren’t we?

   Du verstehst mich, gell? ― You understand me, right?

• gelle, gelt

• “gell (adjective)” in Duden online
• “gell (interjection)” in Duden online
• “gell” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

gell (strong)

1. first-person singular present indicative of gjalla

From Proto-Celtic *geldom (“pledge”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (compare Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”)).

• IPA^(key): /ɡʲel͈/

gell n

1. pledge, surety
2. hostage
3. stake, wager

• gellach
• gellaid
• forcell

• Middle Irish: gell
  • Irish: geall
  • Scottish Gaelic: geall
• ⇒ Middle Irish: gillán

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “gell”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛɬ/
• Rhymes: -ɛɬ

From Middle Welsh gell (“yellow”), from Proto-Celtic *gellos (“yellow”) or *gelos (“white”) (compare Old Irish gel (“white, fair, shining”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“gleam, yellow”) (compare English yellow, Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós, “light green”), Latin helvus (“dull yellow”), Lithuanian žalias (“green”), Persian زر (zar, “yellow”), Sanskrit हरि (hari, “greenish-yellow”)).

gell (feminine singular gell, plural gell, equative gelled, comparative gellach, superlative gellaf)

1. bay (colour)

• gellgi (“a Welsh staghound”)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

gell

1. soft mutation of cell

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “gell”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies