from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Gall \Gall\ (g[add]l), n.[OE. galle, gal, AS. gealla; akin to D.
gal, OS. & OHG. galla, Icel. gall, SW. galla, Dan. galde, L.
fel, Gr. ?, and prob. to E. yellow. [root]49. See {Yellow},
and cf. {Choler}]
1. (Physiol.) The bitter, alkaline, viscid fluid found in the
gall bladder, beneath the liver. It consists of the
secretion of the liver, or bile, mixed with that of the
mucous membrane of the gall bladder.
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2. The gall bladder.
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3. Anything extremely bitter; bitterness; rancor.
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He hath . . . compassed me with gall and travail.
--Lam. iii. 5.
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Comedy diverted without gall. --Dryden.
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4. Impudence; brazen assurance. [Slang]
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{Gall bladder} (Anat.), the membranous sac, in which the
bile, or gall, is stored up, as secreted by the liver; the
cholecystis. See Illust. of Digestive apparatus.
{Gall duct}, a duct which conveys bile, as the cystic duct,
or the hepatic duct.
{Gall sickness}, a remitting bilious fever in the
Netherlands. --Dunglison.
{Gall of the earth} (Bot.), an herbaceous composite plant
with variously lobed and cleft leaves, usually the
{Prenanthes serpentaria}.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Rattlesnake \Rat"tle*snake`\ (r[a^]t"t'l*sn[=a]k`), n. (Zool.)
Any one of several species of venomous American snakes
belonging to the genera {Crotalus} and {Caudisona}, or
{Sistrurus}; sometimes also called {rattler}. They have a
series of horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail
which make a sharp rattling sound when shaken. The common
rattlesnake of the Northern United States ({Crotalus
horridus}), and the {diamondback rattlesnake} (also called
{diamondback rattler}, and {diamondback}) of the South and
East ({Crotalus adamanteus}) and West ({Crotalus atrox}), are
the best known. See Illust. of {Fang}.
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{Ground rattlesnake} (Zool.), a small rattlesnake ({Caudisona
miliaria} or {Sistrurus miliaria}) of the Southern United
States, having a small rattle. It has nine large scales on
its head.
{Rattlesnake fern} (Bot.), a common American fern
({Botrychium Virginianum}) having a triangular decompound
frond and a long-stalked panicle of spore cases rising
from the middle of the frond.
{Rattlesnake grass} (Bot.), a handsome American grass
({Glyceria Canadensis}) with an ample panicle of rather
large ovate spikelets, each one composed of imbricated
parts and slightly resembling the rattle of the
rattlesnake. Sometimes called {quaking grass}.
{Rattlesnake plantain} (Bot.), See under {Plantain}.
{Rattlesnake root} (Bot.), a name given to certain American
species of the composite genus {Prenanthes} ({Prenanthes
alba} and {Prenanthes serpentaria}), formerly asserted to
cure the bite of the rattlesnake. Called also {lion's
foot}, {gall of the earth}, and {white lettuce}.
{Rattlesnake's master} (Bot.)
(a) A species of Agave ({Agave Virginica}) growing in the
Southern United States.
(b) An umbelliferous plant ({Eryngium yuccaefolium}) with
large bristly-fringed linear leaves.
(c) A composite plant, the blazing star ({Liatris
squarrosa}).
{Rattlesnake weed} (Bot.), a plant of the composite genus
{Hieracium} ({Hieracium venosum}); -- probably so named
from its spotted leaves. See also {Snakeroot}.
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