gale /ɡāl, ɡeɪl 
/ ▸ noun 1 a very strong wind: it was almost blowing a gale
[as modifier] gale-force winds.
▪ Meteorology a wind of force 7 to 10 on the Beaufort scale (28-55 knots or 32-63 mph).
▪ a storm at sea.
2 (a gale of/gales of) a burst of sound, especially of laughter: she collapsed into gales of laughter.
– ORIGIN mid 16th century : perhaps related to Old Norse galinn ‘mad, frantic’.
EnglishOxford New American Dictionary
