This word confusion — gallop vs galop vs Gallup — started with gallop and galop with the former evolving from the latter. And all three are heterographs (a subset of homophone).
Both gallop and galop are nouns and verbs. Both involve quick movement. Where they differ is gallop refers to the movement of horses while galop is a dance (or the music for the dance).
Gallup is a proper noun referring to the poll and the town in New Mexico.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| gallop | galop | Gallup |
|---|---|---|
Full Gallop Polo is Vince Pahkala‘s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Galop de Cortesia, 1908, Park Güell, by Frederic Ballell i Maymí and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. It was uploaded by Herodotptlomeu. |
Gallup Portrait, Washington D.C., by Kate Mereand (Quibik cropped the border and adjusted levels) and is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive
Plural for the noun: gallops Third person present verb: gallops |
Noun; Verb, transitive
Plural for the noun: galops Third person present verb: galops Alternative spelling: galopade, gallopade |
Noun, proper
Plural: Gallup |
| Noun: [In singular noun] The fastest pace of a horse or other quadruped, with all the feet off the ground together in each stride
A rapid pace [Medicine; a.k.a. gallop rhythm] A disordered rhythm of the heart characterized by three or four distinct heart sounds in each cycle and resembling the sound of a galloping horse Verb, intransitive: [Of a person] Run fast and rather boisterously
To move, read, talk, etc., rapidly
Verb, transitive: |
Noun: [Dancing] A lively French country dance of the nineteenth century (imported from Germany or Hungary), introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry, is a forerunner of the polka, combining a glissade with a chassé on alternate feet, usually in a fast 2/4 time [Classical music] A piece of music composed for this dance Verb, transitive: |
Noun, proper: A poll that is a statistical survey taken of public opinion and founded by G.H. Gallup
A town located along Route 66 in the United States whose inhabitants are primarily Native Americans of the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo Nations |
| Examples: | ||
| Noun: The horse broke into a furious gallop. Riding at full gallop, Pete got to the hospital in time. Will went for a gallop on the beach. She ran after them at a gallop. West Ham began at the gallop. Events were proceeding at a gallop. Two types of gallop exist and both are diastolic in timing (Grayzel). Verb, intransitive: Leota galloped in from the halfway line. Panic about the deadline was galloping toward them. Summer was galloping by. China’s economy galloped ahead. George galloped from appointment to appointment. Ian came galloping down the stairs. Verb, transitive: The cavalry galloped their horses for hours. |
Noun: I was dancing the galop at Torlonia’s with the Countess G. “My dear fellow,” replied Albert, with perfect ease of mind, “remember, for the future, Napoleon’s maxim, `Never awaken me but for bad news’; if you had let me sleep on, I should have finished my galop, and have been grateful to you all my life.” You may conclude your interrupted galop, so that you will owe no ill-will to Signor Luigi, who has, indeed, throughout this whole affair acted like a gentleman. Johann Strauss II wrote a number of galops. Franz Schubert composed the “Grazer Galopp” [and] the fourth movement of his Symphony No. 2 as a galop. Verb, transitive: The couple galoped around the ballroom to music in 2/4 time. We galoped to the “Grand Galop Chromatique” by Franz Liszt. |
Noun, proper: “How Americans feel about the state of their lives have improved markedly in the eight years since Barack Obama was elected president, according to Gallup data released Tuesday” (Ingraham). “In her visits to Gallup, she reminded us that we are responsible for the least of our brothers — her Missionaries of Charity sisters still work in the Diocese of Gallup, an impact that lasted long after those initial visits” (Santa Fe). “Sixteen percent in Gallup’s trend worried in 2017 that their hours at work would be cut back; 27 percent worried about that prospect in 2009” (Job). Gallup, New Mexico, was founded in 1881 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and named after the railroad paymaster. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: galloping Noun: galloper Verb: outgallop |
||
| History of the Word: | ||
| Early 16th century, from the Old French galop (noun), galoper, variants of the Old Northern French walop (noun), waloper (verb), perhaps from a Germanic phrase meaning run well. | 1830–40, from the French galop. | Founded in 1935 as the American Institute of Public Opinion, the precursor of the Gallup Organization, in Princeton, New Jersey. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for gallop vs galop vs Gallup
Apple Dictionary.com
The Free Dictionary: gallop, galop
“Gallop vs Gallup.” Grammarist. n.d. Web. 17 Oct 2022. <https://grammarist.com/usage/gallop-vs-gallup/>.
Grayzel, Dr Joseph. “Gallop Rhythm of the Heart.” The American Journal of Medicine. vol 28, i 4, P578-592. 1 April 1960. Web. 17 Oct 2022. <https://www.amjmed.com/article/0002-9343(60)90152-2/fulltext>.
Ingraham, Christopher. “Gallup: Life Got Better for Pretty Much Everyone Under Obama.” The Washington Post. 31 Aug 2016. Web. 17 Oct 2022. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/31/gallup-life-got-better-for-pretty-much-everyone-under-obama/>.
“Job Anxiety.” AEI Paper & Studies. The Free Dictionary. 1 Aug 2018. Web. 17 Oct 2022. <https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Job Anxiety-a0555410650>.
Kuiper, Kathleen. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “galop.” Britannica. n.d. Web. 17 Oct 2022. <https://www.britannica.com/art/galop>.
Longman Dictionary: gallop
“Our View: A Saint Visits New Mexico.” The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1 Sept 2016. Web. 17 Oct 2022.<https://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/editorials/our-view-a-saint-visits-new-mexico/article_0cd1395c-aad8-5241-9639-41eb14df6e65.html>.
Wikipedia: galop
Wiktionary: galop
Word Reference: gallop
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Der große Galop by Johann Christian Schoeller and Andreas Geiger the Elder is in the public domain. Gallup Trading Post, 1839, by Richie Diesterheft is under the CC BY 2.0 license. Both images are via Wikimedia Commons.
