Vocaboly.com

[May L.]

Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I am new to this forum, but I like it immensely. I live in Russia and my English is more than a bit rusty, since I don't speak it very often. Anyway, I enjoy reading books and seeing films in English, and I work as a translator. Your topiс about "nesh" has been very, very helpful. Thanks a lot!

Now a fellow translator is having trouble with the word "galis". Could anyone tell us anything at all about this word? Judging by the context, it means some kind of door or gate.

[Cymraes]

Hello May ,

The word 'galis' exists in French . It is a hunting term referring to where deer scratch the ground with their hooves . ( Source : Littré )

But you seem to be more interested in doors than deer ....Let's scrap the deer and head for the door .

I rolled the word 'galis' around in my head whilst thinking of gates and doors . I came up with 'portcullis' . This English word comes from the Old French porte + coleïce i.e. sliding gate or door . The word 'coleïce' is of Latin origin and comes from the verb colare , to filter . In modern French , one refers to a porte coulissante .

Like some gates and doors , consonants and vowels have been known to slide too . Could 'galis' be an example of this phenomenon ? Could 'galis' be a sort of sliding gate or door , via the Old French coleïce ? A door , or gate , which filters people ?

Cymraes .

[May L.]

Thank you, Cymraes!
I passed your idea on to my fellow-translator, and he says it's quite consistent with the context. He is now looking for some documentary sources supporting this theory.