English

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Etymology

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

Noun

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galligu (uncountable)

  1. 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.