galligu

English

Term used in Widnes (historically part of Lancashire), of unknown origin. Possibly onomatopoeic or sound-symbolic.

galligu (uncountable)

The insoluble waste products of the Leblanc process.
- 1967, Geographical Association, Geography, volumes 51-52:
  Most of what is now south-central Widnes is probably underlain by galligu […]
- 1993, Thomas Kingston Derry, Trevor Illtyd Williams, A short history of technology: from the earliest times to A.D. 1900, page 540:
  Of the technical improvements in the Leblanc process, some of the most important were concerned with the treatment of galligu to recover sulphur.