12 results for: Alley

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
al·ley1    Audio Help   [al-ee] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -leys.
1.a passage, as through a continuous row of houses, permitting access from the street to backyards, garages, etc.
2.a narrow back street.
3.a walk, as in a garden, enclosed with hedges or shrubbery.
4.Bowling.
a.a long, narrow, wooden lane or floor along which the ball is rolled.
b.(often plural) a building for bowling.
c.bowling green.
5.Tennis. the space on each side of a tennis court between the doubles sideline and the service or singles sideline.
6.Rare. an aisle.
7.up or down one's alley, Informal. in keeping with or satisfying one's abilities, interests, or tastes: If you like science fiction, this book will be right up your alley.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME al(e)y < MF alee walk, passage, deriv. of fem. of ale, ptp. of aler to walk (F aller), prob. < VL *allārī, regularized from allātus, the suppletive ptp. of afferre to bring (pass. afferrī to be moved, conveyed, to betake oneself); F aller often allegedly < L ambulāre to walk (see amble), but this offers grave phonetic problems, since the m and b would not normally be lost]

2. See street.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Alley

To learn more about Alley visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
al·ley2    Audio Help   [al-ee] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -leys. Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
a choice, large playing marble.

[Origin: 1710–20; prob. al(abaster) + -y2, sp. to conform with alley1]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
al·ley 1    Audio Help   (āl'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. al·leys
  1. A narrow street or passageway between or behind city buildings.
  2. A path between flower beds or trees in a garden or park.
  3. Sports
    1. A straight narrow course or track, especially a bowling alley.
    2. Either of the parallel lanes at the sides of a tennis court, which widen the inbounds area for doubles play.


[Middle English alei, from Old French alee, from aler, to walk, from Latin ambulāre; see ambulate.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
al·ley 2    Audio Help   (āl'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. al·leys Games
A large playing marble, often used as the shooter.


[Short for alabaster.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
alley 
1360, "passage in a house, covered way, walk in a garden," from O.Fr. alée, from alé, fem. pp. of aler "to go," which ultimately may be a contraction of L. ambulare "to walk," or a back-formation from L. allatus "having been brought to." Applied c.1400 to "long narrow enclosure for playing at bowls, skittles, etc." The meaning "passage between buildings" is from c.1510; the word also is applied in Amer.Eng. to what in London is called a mews (q.v.). To be up someone's alley "in someone's neighborhood" (lit. or fig.) is from 1931; alley-cat first attested 1904.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
alley

noun
1. a narrow street with walls on both sides 
2. a lane down which a bowling ball is rolled toward pins [syn: bowling alley

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
alley1 [ˈӕli] noun
(often ˈalleyway) a narrow street in a city etc (usually not wide enough for vehicles)
Arabic: زِقَاق
Chinese (Simplified): 小巷
Chinese (Traditional): 小巷
Czech: ulička
Danish: smøge; baggade
Dutch: steeg
Estonian: kitsas tänav, kuja
Finnish: kuja
French: ruelle
German: die Gasse
Greek: στενό, σοκάκι
Hungarian: sikátor, köz
Icelandic: sund
Indonesian: lorong, gang
Italian: vicolo
Japanese: 小道
Korean: 골목길
Latvian: aleja; šaura ieliņa
Lithuanian: gatvelė, skersgatvis
Norwegian: smug, bakgate
Polish: uliczka
Portuguese (Brazil): viela
Portuguese (Portugal): viela
Romanian: alee
Russian: аллея; переулок
Slovak: ulička
Slovenian: uličica
Spanish: callejuela
Swedish: gränd, prång
Turkish: dar sokak
alley2 [ˈӕli] noun
a long narrow area used for the games of bowling or skittles
Example: a bowling alley
Arabic: مَجاز لُعْبَة البولِنْغ
Chinese (Simplified): (保龄球)球道
Chinese (Traditional): (保齡球)球道
Czech: dráha (pro kuželky apod.)
Danish: bane
Dutch: kegelbaan
Estonian: keeglirada
Finnish: keilarata
French: bowling
German: die Bahn
Greek: διάδρομος μπόουλιγκ
Hungarian: tekepálya
Icelandic: braut
Indonesian: jalur bowling
Italian: corsia
Japanese: レーン
Korean: (볼링의) 레인
Latvian: bumbotava
Lithuanian: takas
Norwegian: bane
Polish: tor
Portuguese (Brazil): pista
Portuguese (Portugal): pista
Romanian: culoar
Russian: дорожка
Slovak: dráha (na kolky ap.)
Slovenian: (kegljaška) steza
Spanish: pista
Swedish: bana
Turkish: dar ve uzun alan
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Alley

Al"ley\, n.; pl. Alleys. [OE. aley, alley, OF. al['e]e, F. all['e]e, a going, passage, fr. OE. aler, F. aller, to go; of uncertain origin: cf. Prov. anar, It. andare, Sp. andar.]

1. A narrow passage; especially a walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes; a bordered way.

I know each lane and every alley green. --Milton.

2. A narrow passage or way in a city, as distinct from a public street. --Gay.

3. A passageway between rows of pews in a church.

4. (Persp.) Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.

5. The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Alley

Al"ley\, n.; pl. Alleys. [A contraction of alabaster, of which it was originally made.] A choice taw or marble. --Dickens.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Alley

Al"ly\, n. See Alley, a marble or taw.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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