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English pale

 - 4 dictionary results

pale

2[peyl] noun, verb, paled, pal⋅ing.
–noun
1. a stake or picket, as of a fence.
2. an enclosing or confining barrier; enclosure.
3. an enclosed area.
4. limits; bounds: outside the pale of his jurisdiction.
5. a district or region within designated bounds.
6. (initial capital letter) Also called English Pale, Irish Pale. a district in eastern Ireland included in the Angevin Empire of King Henry II and his successors.
7. an ordinary in the form of a broad vertical stripe at the center of an escutcheon.
8. Shipbuilding. a shore used inside to support the deck beams of a hull under construction.
–verb (used with object)
9. to enclose with pales; fence.
10. to encircle or encompass.
11. beyond the pale, beyond the limits of propriety, courtesy, protection, safety, etc.: Their public conduct is certainly beyond the pale.

Origin:
1300–50; ME (north), OE pāl < L pālus stake. See peel 3 , pole 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

pale  (adj.)
c.1300, from O.Fr. paile, from L. pallidus "pale, pallid, wan," from pallere "be pale, grow pale," from PIE *pol-/*pel- (see pallor). The verb is first recorded c.1300. Pale-face, supposed N.Amer. Indian word for "European," is attested from 1822.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pale
Pronunciation: 'pA(&)l
Function: adjective
Inflected Forms: pal·er; pal·est
: deficient in color orintensity of color pale face> —pale·ness /-n&s/ noun
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