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aisle

 - 4 dictionary results

aisle

  [ahyl]
Use aisle in a Sentence
–noun
1. a walkway between or along sections of seats in a theater, classroom, or the like.
2. Architecture.
a. a longitudinal division of an interior area, as in a church, separated from the main area by an arcade or the like.
b. any of the longitudinal divisions of a church or the like.
—Idiom
3. in the aisles, (of an audience) convulsed with laughter.
Origin:
1350–1400; alter. (with ai < F aile wing) of earlier isle (with s from isle ), ile; r. ME ele < MF < L āla wing, c. axle. See ala

Related forms:
aisled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To aisle
aisle   (īl)   
n.  

  1. A part of a church divided laterally from the nave by a row of pillars or columns.

  2. A passageway between rows of seats, as in an auditorium or an airplane.

  3. A passageway for inside traffic, as in a department store, warehouse, or supermarket.


[Alteration (influenced by isle and French aile, wing) of Middle English ele, from Old French, wing of a building, from Latin āla.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aisle 
c.1370, ele, from O.Fr. ele "wing" (of a church), from L. ala, related to axilla "wing, upper arm, armpit," from PIE *aks- "axis" (see axis), via a suffixed form *aks-la-. The root meaning in "turning" connects it with axle and axis. Confused 15c. with unrelated ile "island" (perhaps from notion of a "detached" part of a church), and so it took an -s- when isle did, c.1700; by 1750 it had acquired an a-, on the model of Fr. cognate aile. The word also was confused with alley, which gave it the sense of "passage between rows of pews or seats" (1731), which was then extended to railway cars, theaters, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

aisle

portion of a church or basilica that parallels or encircles the major sections of the structure, such as the nave, choir, or apse (aisles around the apse are usually called ambulatories). The aisle is often set off by columns or by an arcade.

Learn more about aisle with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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