Early 19th century; earliest use found in Henry Milman (1791–1868), historian and dean of St Paul's. From Aramaic rēš gālūṯā, literally ‘head of the exiles’ (frequently in both the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud) from rēš, construct state of rēšā head, chief + gālūṯā, emphatic form of gālū exile, community of exiled people.