The story
- Old French · derived fromgaler“to enjoy oneself”
- French · borrowed fromGalvin
- Irish · derived fromÓ Gealbháin“descendant of Gealbhán”
- English todayGalvin
Two main origins: * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gealbháin (“descendant of Gealbhán”), a personal name composed of the elements geal (“bright”) and bán (“white”). * Borrowed from French Galvin, either a variant of Gauvain or a nickname for a drunkard, from Old French galer (“to enjoy oneself”).
Words from the same roots
Old Frenchgaler all →
gallimaufry
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.