Gala

How to spell gala

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce gala

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does gala mean?

1. nounA grand, festive social or sporting occasion, often held to celebrate something or to raise money.

Gala in a sentence

• The charity gala raised enough money to fund the new clinic.

• Tickets to the opening night gala sold out within an hour.

Where does gala come from?

Language of origin: Italian

The word arrived in English in the early 1600s from Italian and French, where 'gala' described a showy festive occasion and, originally, the fine clothing worn for one. The Italian noun and the French phrase 'de gala', meaning 'in fine or festive dress', both trace back to Old French 'gale', which meant merriment, enjoyment or rejoicing. That older 'gale' is thought to derive from a Frankish word related to the same Germanic source that gives modern terms for being glad or merry, so the idea of cheerful celebration sits at its heart. For a long time a 'gala day' simply meant a holiday on which people dressed up and made merry, and only later did 'gala' on its own settle into the modern sense of a grand, festive social or sporting event. The short, vowel-heavy spelling rarely trips writers up, though the unstressed final 'a' is the only place an uncertain speller might hesitate.

How the word is built

• gala (a single unanalysable root meaning festivity; no separable prefix or suffix)