PALE

pale, pallid, wan

(adjective) abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress; “the pallid face of the invalid”; “her wan face suddenly flushed”

pale, pallid

(adjective) lacking in vitality or interest or effectiveness; “a pale rendition of the aria”; “pale prose with the faint sweetness of lavender”; “a pallid performance”

pale

(adjective) very light colored; highly diluted with white; “pale seagreen”; “pale blue eyes”

pale

(adjective) not full or rich; “high, pale, pure and lovely song”

pale, pallid, wan, sick

(adjective) (of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble; “the pale light of a half moon”; “a pale sun”; “the late afternoon light coming through the el tracks fell in pale oblongs on the street”; “a pallid sky”; “the pale (or wan) stars”; “the wan light of dawn”

picket, pale

(noun) a wooden strip forming part of a fence

pale, blanch, blench

(verb) turn pale, as if in fear

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Adjective

pale (comparative paler, superlative palest)

Light in color.

(of human skin) Having a pallor (a light color, especially due to sickness, shock, fright etc.).

Feeble, faint.

Synonyms

• (human skin): See also pallid

Verb

pale (third-person singular simple present pales, present participle paling, simple past and past participle paled)

(intransitive) To turn pale; to lose colour.

(intransitive) To become insignificant.

(transitive) To make pale; to diminish the brightness of.

Noun

pale

(obsolete) Paleness; pallor.

Etymology 2

Noun

pale (plural pales)

A wooden stake; a picket.

(archaic) Fence made from wooden stake; palisade.

(by extension) Limits, bounds (especially before of).

The bounds of morality, good behaviour or judgment in civilized company, in the phrase beyond the pale.

(heraldiccharge) A vertical band down the middle of a shield.

(archaic) A territory or defensive area within a specific boundary or under a given jurisdiction.

(historical) The parts of Ireland under English jurisdiction.

(historical) The territory around Calais under English control (from the 14th to 16th centuries).

(historical) A portion of Russia in which Jews were permitted to live.

(archaic) The jurisdiction (territorial or otherwise) of an authority.

A cheese scoop.

A shore for bracing a timber before it is fastened.

Verb

pale (third-person singular simple present pales, present participle paling, simple past and past participle paled)

To enclose with pales, or as if with pales; to encircle or encompass; to fence off.

Anagrams

• Alep, LEAP, Lape, Leap, Peal, e-pal, leap, peal, pela, plea

Source: Wiktionary


Pale, a. [Compar. Paler; superl. Palest.] Etym: [F. pâle, fr. pâlir to turn pale, L. pallere to be oAppall, Fallow, pall, v. i., Pallid.]

1. Wanting in color; not ruddy; dusky white; pallid; wan; as, a pale face; a pale red; a pale blue. "Pale as a forpined ghost." Chaucer. Speechless he stood and pale. Milton. They are not of complexion red or pale. T. Randolph.

2. Not bright or brilliant; of a faint luster or hue; dim; as, the pale light of the moon. The night, methinks, is but the daylight sick; It looks a little paler. Shak.

Note: Pale is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, pale-colored, pale-eyed, pale-faced, pale-looking, etc.

Pale, n.

Definition: Paleness; pallor. [R.] Shak.

Pale, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Paled; p. pr. & vb. n. Paling.]

Definition: To turn pale; to lose color or luster. Whittier. Apt to pale at a trodden worm. Mrs. Browning.

Pale, v. t.

Definition: To make pale; to diminish the brightness of. The glowpale his uneffectual fire. Shak.

Pale, n. Etym: [F. pal, fr. L. palus: cf. D. paal. See Pol a stake, and lst Pallet.]

1. A pointed stake or slat, either driven into the ground, or fastened to a rail at the top and bottom, for fencing or inclosing; a picket. Deer creep through when a pale tumbles down. Mortimer.

2. That which incloses or fences in; a boundary; a limit; a fence; a palisade. "Within one pale or hedge." Robynson (More's Utopia).

3. A space or field having bounds or limits; a limited region or place; an inclosure; -- often used figuratively. "To walk the studious cloister's pale." Milton. "Out of the pale of civilization." Macaulay.

4. A stripe or band, as on a garment. Chaucer.

5. (Her.)

Definition: One of the greater ordinaries, being a broad perpendicular stripe in an escutcheon, equally distant from the two edges, and occupying one third of it.

6. A cheese scoop. Simmonds.

7. (Shipbuilding)

Definition: A shore for bracing a timber before it is fastened. English pale (Hist.), the limits or territory within which alone the English conquerors of Ireland held dominion for a long period after their invasion of the country in 1172. Spencer.

Pale, v. t.

Definition: To inclose with pales, or as with pales; to encircle; to encompass; to fence off. [Your isle, which stands] ribbed and paled in With rocks unscalable and roaring waters. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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