Meanings
gala1
- not comparableCelebratory; festive.
plural galas
- A competition.
a swimming gala
- A red-skinned variety of eating apple.
gala2
plural galas
- historicalA member of an androgynous class of priests of the Sumerian goddess Inanna.
(6) Some galas/kalûs are mentioned in Pre-Sargonic and Old Babylonian texts in connection with classes of women, maids, and ḫarimtu-women. (7) The gala is sometimes mentioned in the same context with other functionaries […]
2008, Uri Gabbay, The Akkadian word for "third gender" / the kalû (gala) once again, in Proceedings of the 51st Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Held at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, July 18-22, 2005 (edited by Robert D. Biggs, Jennie Myers, Martha Tobi Roth), page 50
Gala3
- informalGalashiels, a town in Scotland.
Gala4
plural Galas
- A type of apple, a cross-pollination between Kidd's Orange Red and Golden Delicious.
Gala5
- hobbiesGalatasaray S.K. (a Turkish sports club best known for its football team)
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
gala · adjective, noun
- Old Frenchgale“rejoicing”
- Spanishgala
- Italiangala
- Frenchgala
- Englishgala
From French gala, or directly from that word's etymon, which is either Italian gala, or Spanish gala, both meaning "festive occasion", and derived from Old French gale (“rejoicing”). (The French word likely kept the final -a to avoid homophony with gale (“scabies”).) Ultimately cognate to gallant and hence probably from Frankish *wala (“good, well”).
More words from French, Italian, Spanish
Full word history & related roots →gala · noun
- Sumerian𒍑𒆪
- Englishgala
Learned borrowing from Sumerian 𒍑𒆪 (gala), related to Akkadian 𒍑𒆪 (kalû). A connection to the similar Phrygian and Roman priests of Cybele called gallae or galli has been suggested, but evidence is lacking.
More words from Sumerian
Full word history & related roots →Gala · proper noun
- TurkishGala
- EnglishGala
From Turkish Gala.
More words from Turkish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian празничен, тържествен
- празничен (prazničen)festive
- тържествен (tăržestven)festive
- тържество (tăržestvo)pomp, show or festivity
- празненство (praznenstvo)pomp, show or festivity
Catalan gala
- galapomp, show or festivity
Chinese Cantonese 加拿, 加拿果
- 加拿a type of apple
- 加拿果a type of apple
Chinese Mandarin 典禮 /典礼, 慶典 /庆典
- 典禮 /典礼 (diǎnlǐ)pomp, show or festivity
- 慶典 /庆典 (qìngdiǎn)pomp, show or festivity
Czech slavnostní, gala
- slavnostnífestive
- galafestive
- slavnostpomp, show or festivity
Esperanto festeno
- festenopomp, show or festivity
Finnish juhlallinen, gaala
- juhlallinenfestive
- gaalapomp, show or festivity
French gala, fête
- galapomp, show or festivity
- fêtepomp, show or festivity
Hebrew גָּאלָה
- גָּאלָה (gála)pomp, show or festivity
Icelandic hátíð
- hátíðfestive
Italian gala
- galafestive
Norwegian galla
- gallafestive
Portuguese de gala, festivo
- de galafestive
- festivofestive
- galapomp, show or festivity
Russian пра́здничный, торже́ственный
- пра́здничный (prázdničnyj)festive
- торже́ственный (toržéstvennyj)festive
- парадный (paradnyj)festive
- торжество́ (toržestvó)pomp, show or festivity
- пра́зднество (prázdnestvo)pomp, show or festivity
Spanish de gala, gala
- de galafestive
- galapomp, show or festivity
- fiestapomp, show or festivity
Swedish gala
- galapomp, show or festivity
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gala
Anagrams
Cite this entry
gala. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gala
“gala.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gala. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gala,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gala.
Source: gala on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.