pale

1 [peyl] adjective, pal·er, pal·est, verb, paled, pal·ing.
adjective
1.
lacking intensity of color; colorless or whitish: a pale complexion.
2.
of a low degree of chroma, saturation, or purity; approaching white or gray: pale yellow.
3.
not bright or brilliant; dim: the pale moon.
4.
faint or feeble; lacking vigor: a pale protest.
verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
5.
to make or become pale: to pale at the sight of blood.
00:10
Paler is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French < Latin pallidus pallid

pale·ly, adverb
pale·ness, noun


1. Pale pallid wan imply an absence of color, especially from the human countenance. Pale implies a faintness or absence of color, which may be natural when applied to things, the pale blue of a violet, but when used to refer to the human face usually means an unnatural and often temporary absence of color, as arising from sickness or sudden emotion: pale cheeks. Pallid , limited mainly to the human countenance, implies an excessive paleness induced by intense emotion, disease, or death: the pallid lips of the dying man. Wan implies a sickly paleness, as after a long illness: wan and thin; the suggestion of weakness may be more prominent than that of lack of color: a wan smile. 5. blanch, whiten.


1. ruddy. 5. darken.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
pale1 (peɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  lacking brightness of colour; whitish: pale morning light
2.  (of a colour) whitish; produced by a relatively small quantity of colouring agent
3.  dim or wan: the pale stars
4.  feeble: a pale effort
5.  (South African) a euphemism for White
 
vb (often foll by before)
6.  to make or become pale or paler; blanch
7.  to lose superiority or importance (in comparison to): her beauty paled before that of her hostess
 
[C13: from Old French palle, from Latin pallidus pale, from pallēre to look wan]
 
'palely1
 
adv
 
'paleness1
 
n

pale2 (peɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a wooden post or strip used as an upright member in a fence
2.  an enclosing barrier, esp a fence made of pales
3.  an area enclosed by a pale
4.  a sphere of activity within which certain restrictions are applied
5.  heraldry an ordinary consisting of a vertical stripe, usually in the centre of a shield
6.  beyond the pale outside the limits of social convention
 
vb
7.  (tr) to enclose with pales
 
[C14: from Old French pal, from Latin pālus stake; compare pole1]

palea or pale (ˈpeɪlɪə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl paleae, pales
1.  Compare lemma the inner of two bracts surrounding each floret in a grass spikelet
2.  any small membranous bract or scale
 
[C18: from Latin: straw, chaff; see pallet1]
 
pale or pale (ˈpeɪlɪə, ˈpeɪlɪˌiː) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
 
[C18: from Latin: straw, chaff; see pallet1]
 
paleaceous or pale
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pale
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.

pale
early 14c., "fence of pointed stakes," from L. palus "stake," related to pangere "to fix or fasten" (see pact). Figurative sense of "limit, boundary, restriction" is from c.1400. Barely surviving in beyond the pale and similar phrases. Meaning "the part of Ireland under English rule" is from 1540s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences from the web
Their skin is much paler than that of the villagers, and all of them appear to be bald.
The juvenile is browner and has a paler rufous face and whiter underparts.
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