Gallowglass

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A mercenary warrior élite among Gaelic-Norse clans residing in the Western Isles of Scotland and Scottish Highlands from the mid 13th century to the end of the 16th century. historical

    "The multiplying villanies of nature / Do swarm upon him--from the western isles/ Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied."

Example

More examples

"The multiplying villanies of nature / Do swarm upon him--from the western isles/ Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied."

Etymology

From Irish gallóglach (“foreign soldier”), from Gall (“foreigner, non-Gaelic person”) + óglách (“soldier”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.