Gull Means a Seabird and a Person Easily Deceived
A gull is a seabird. The same word once meant a dupe, and gullible was built from it.
A gull is a long-winged seabird, and in older English a person easily deceived. The two may or may not be connected, but *gullible* was formed from the second sense in the 1700s and is now far commoner than the noun it came from. Calling someone a gull is archaic; calling them gullible is not. There is no bird properly called a seagull — the family contains many species, each with its own name, and several live far inland.
- A seabird. *A herring gull.*
- A dupe (archaic). *An easy gull.*
- To deceive. *Gulled by the story.*
- Gullible — easily fooled. *Gullible.*
- Welsh — *gwylan*. *A likely source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | gull | A gull. |
| Plural | gulls | Gulls. |
| Verb | gull | Gulled. |
| Adjective | gullible | Gullible. |
| Welsh | gwylan | A gull. |
- Gulls followed the trawler.Birds.
- He was gulled completely.Archaic.
- There is no bird called a seagull.Fact.
About gulls
- Seagull is not a species name; each gull has its own
- Many live inland, following ploughs and rubbish tips
- They have salt glands above the eyes to drink seawater
- Several species use tools and solve puzzles in tests
- Herring gulls can live more than thirty years
Probably from Welsh *gwylan* or Cornish *guilan*, a gull. The sense of a dupe is of separate and uncertain origin.
Is there a bird called a seagull?
Not properly. The family contains many species with their own names, and several live far from the sea.
Where does gullible come from?
From the older noun gull, meaning a person easily deceived. The adjective was formed in the 1700s and outlived its source.