Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sal·ly       (sāl'ē)  Pronunciation Key  intr.v.   sal·lied, sal·ly·ing, sal·lies To rush out or leap forth suddenly. To issue suddenly from a defensive or besieged position to attack an enemy. To set out on a trip or excursion: sallied forth to see the world. n.   pl. sal·lies A sudden rush forward; a leap. An assault from a defensive position; a sortie. A sudden emergence into action or expression; an outburst. A sudden quick witticism; a quip. See Synonyms at joke. A venturing forth; a jaunt. [From French saillie, a sally, from Old French, from feminine past participle of salir, to rush forward, from Latin salīre, to leap; see sel- in Indo-European roots.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sally 

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sally 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

sally
noun
1.	witty remark [syn: wisecrack]
2.	a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position [syn: sortie]
3.	a venture off the beaten path; "a sally into the wide world beyond his home"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sally

Sal"ly\ (s[a^]l"l[y^]), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sallied (-l[i^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Sallying.] [F. saillir, fr. L. salire to leap, spring, akin to Gr. "a`llesqai; cf. Skr. s[.r] to go, to flow. Cf. Salient, Assail, Assault, Exult, Insult, Saltation, Saltire.] To leap or rush out; to burst forth; to issue suddenly; as a body of troops from a fortified place to attack besiegers; to make a sally.

They break the truce, and sally out by night. --Dryden.

The foe retires, -- she heads the sallying host. --Byron.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sally

Sal"ly\, n.; pl. Sallies. [F. saillie, fr. saillir. See Sally, v.]

1. A leaping forth; a darting; a spring.

2. A rushing or bursting forth; a quick issue; a sudden eruption; specifically, an issuing of troops from a place besieged to attack the besiegers; a sortie.

Sallies were made by the Spaniards, but they were beaten in with loss. --Bacon.

3. An excursion from the usual track; range; digression; deviation.

Every one shall know a country better that makes often sallies into it, and traverses it up and down, than he that . . . goes still round in the same track. --Locke.

4. A flight of fancy, liveliness, wit, or the like; a flashing forth of a quick and active mind.

The unaffected mirth with which she enjoyed his sallies. --Sir W. Scott.

5. Transgression of the limits of soberness or steadiness; act of levity; wild gayety; frolic; escapade.

The excursion was esteemed but a sally of youth. --Sir H. Wotton.

Sally port. (a) (Fort.) A postern gate, or a passage underground, from the inner to the outer works, to afford free egress for troops in a sortie. (b) (Naval) A large port on each quarter of a fireship, for the escape of the men into boats when the train is fired; a large port in an old-fashioned three-decker or a large modern ironclad.