Meaning
In large numbers or amounts; abundantly, plentifully. It is nearly always postpositive, following the noun it modifies ('opportunities galore', 'food galore'), which makes it one of the few adjectives English forces into that position. The tone is cheerful and a little quaint rather than formal. Light, upbeat, and slightly old-fashioned; almost exclusively postpositive. Regional use: General English (borrowed from Irish).
Origin
From Irish go leor, 'to sufficiency' - go is a particle that builds adverbial phrases and leor means 'enough, sufficient' (Old Irish lour, from a Celtic root that also yields Welsh llawer 'much, many'). The phrase arrived with English contact with Irish speakers in the early 1600s: Merriam-Webster dates the first known use to 1628, while the Online Etymology Dictionary's files point to the 1670s. Once naturalized, its meaning strengthened from 'enough' to 'in lavish abundance', and its placement after the noun preserves ordinary Irish word order - a small grammatical fossil of the borrowing.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- gallore
- galor
Usage Examples
- The farmers market in late August offers tomatoes, peaches, and fresh herbs galore.
- Free samples galore persuaded us to buy the expensive olive oil.
- There will be parking galore once the new garage opens next spring.