gull1

[guhl] /gʌl/
noun
1.
any of numerous long-winged, web-toed, aquatic birds of the family Laridae, having usually white plumage with a gray back and wings.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English gulle, perhaps < Welsh gŵylan, Cornish guilan (compare French goéland < Breton gwelan)
Related forms
gull-like, adjective

gull2

[guhl] /gʌl/
verb (used with object)
1.
to deceive, trick, or cheat.
noun
2.
a person who is easily deceived or cheated; dupe.
Origin
1540-50; perhaps akin to obsolete gull to swallow, guzzle
Synonyms
1. cozen, dupe, fool, bamboozle, hoodwink.
Examples from the web for gull
  • It would seem to be no contest should a jetliner or even a smaller plane collide with a gull or a goose.
  • Consider the flightless fluffs of brown otherwise known as herring gull chicks.
  • On the vault, she lands as softly as a sea gull on a beach.
  • On both of these occasions, a sea gull paddled over and pecked at the fish for a little while.
  • Cape gull with wings outstretched in the archangel position.
British Dictionary definitions for gull

gull1

/ɡʌl/
noun
1.
any aquatic bird of the genus Larus and related genera, such as L. canus (common gull or mew) having long pointed wings, short legs, and a mostly white plumage: family Laridae, order Charadriiformes related adjective larine
Derived Forms
gull-like, adjective
Word Origin
C15: of Celtic origin; compare Welsh gwylan

gull2

/ɡʌl/
noun
1.
a person who is easily fooled or cheated
verb
2.
(transitive) to fool, cheat, or hoax
Word Origin
C16: perhaps from dialect gull unfledged bird, probably from gul, from Old Norse gulr yellow
Word Origin and History for gull
n.

shore bird, early 15c. (in a cook book), probably from Brythonic Celtic, cf. Welsh gwylan "gull," Cornish guilan, Breton goelann; all from Old Celtic *voilenno-. Replaced Old English mæw (see mew (n.1)).

cant term for "dupe, sucker, credulous person," 1590s, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from verb meaning "to dupe, cheat" (1540s), earlier "to swallow" (1520s), ultimately from gull "throat, gullet" (early 15c.); see gullet. Or it is perhaps from (or influenced by) the bird (see gull (n.1)); in either case with a sense of "someone who will swallow anything thrown at him." Another possibility is Middle English dialectal gull "newly hatched bird" (late 14c.), which is perhaps from Old Norse golr "yellow," from the hue of its down.