gallery — ODE

gallery /ˈɡal(ə)ri

▸ noun

(plural galleries)

1 a room or building for the display or sale of works of art:

an art gallery

the National Gallery.

▪ a collection of pictures:

an extensive gallery of colour photographs.

2 a balcony or upper floor projecting from an interior back or side wall of a hall or church, providing space for an audience or musicians:

in the minstrels' gallery, a string orchestra plays themes from film soundtracks.

▪ (the gallery) the highest balcony in a theatre, containing the cheapest seats.

▪ a group of spectators, especially those at a golf tournament:

he lashed a two-iron on to the green, bringing gasps from the gallery.

3 a long room or passage, typically one that is partly open at the side to form a portico or colonnade.

▪ a horizontal underground passage, especially in a mine:

long underground galleries of 3 km or more made it possible to mine under the sea.

– PHRASES

play to the gallery act in an exaggerated way in order to appeal to popular taste.

– DERIVATIVES

galleried adjective

– ORIGIN late Middle English (in gallery (sense 3 of the noun)): via Old French from Italian galleria ‘gallery’, formerly also ‘church porch’, from medieval Latin galeria, perhaps an alteration of galilea (see galilee).