Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “gallon” come from?

Gallon comes from Old French galon, from Latin galleta, from Latin galla, from Proto-Indo-European gel-.

gallon (English): A unit of volume, equivalent to eight pints;...

Definitions

  1. A unit of volume, equivalent to eight pints;...

Ancestry of “gallon”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishgallon—
2Normangalun—
3Latingalum—
4Vulgar Latin*galla—
5Gaulishgallāvessel
6Proto-Germanicgallǭgall, bile
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰelh₃-to flourish; green, yellow

Words derived from “gallon”

  • gal
  • gawn
  • gallonage
  • milligal
  • multigallon
  • galfriend
  • galpal
  • cowgal
  • gongoozler
  • galge
  • gals
  • gongoozle
  • transgal
  • kilogallon
  • галлон
  • galão
  • 加侖
  • ギャルゲーム
  • ギャルゲー
  • галон
  • galon
  • galon
  • galon
  • गैलन
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- →