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allay - 8 dictionary results
al⋅lay
[uh-ley] 
–verb (used with object), -layed, -lay⋅ing.
| 1. | to put (fear, doubt, suspicion, anger, etc.) to rest; calm; quiet. |
| 2. | to lessen or relieve; mitigate; alleviate: to allay pain. |
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME aleyen, OE ālecgan to put down, allay (ā- a- 3 + lecgan to lay 1 ); sp. -ll- shows influence of the now obs. allege (< AF, OF aleg(i)er; see allege ) to alleviate, allay
bef. 1000; ME aleyen, OE ālecgan to put down, allay (ā- a- 3 + lecgan to lay 1 ); sp. -ll- shows influence of the now obs. allege (< AF, OF aleg(i)er; see allege ) to alleviate, allay
Related forms:
al⋅lay⋅er, noun
Synonyms:
1. soften, assuage. Allay, moderate, soothe mean to reduce excitement or emotion. To allay is to lay to rest or lull to a sense of security, possibly by making the emotion seem unjustified: to allay suspicion, anxiety, fears. To moderate is to tone down any excess and thus to restore calm: to moderate the expression of one's grief. To soothe is to exert a pacifying or tranquilizing influence: to soothe a terrified child. 2. lighten, mollify, temper, ease.
1. soften, assuage. Allay, moderate, soothe mean to reduce excitement or emotion. To allay is to lay to rest or lull to a sense of security, possibly by making the emotion seem unjustified: to allay suspicion, anxiety, fears. To moderate is to tone down any excess and thus to restore calm: to moderate the expression of one's grief. To soothe is to exert a pacifying or tranquilizing influence: to soothe a terrified child. 2. lighten, mollify, temper, ease.
Antonyms:
1. excite.
1. excite.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To allay
| al·lay (ə-lā') tr.v. al·layed, al·lay·ing, al·lays
[Middle English aleien, from Old English ālecgan, to lay down : ā-, intensive pref. + lecgan, to lay; see lay1.] al·lay'er n. |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Allay
Al*lay"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Allayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Allaying.] [OE. alaien, aleggen, to lay down, put down, humble, put an end to, AS. [=a]lecgan; [=a]- (cf. Goth. us-, G. er-, orig. meaning out) + lecgan to lay; but confused with old forms of allege, alloy, alegge. See Lay.]1. To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm; as, to allay popular excitement; to allay the tumult of the passions. 2. To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate; as, to allay the severity of affliction or the bitterness of adversity. It would allay the burning quality of that fell poison. --Shak. Syn: To alleviate; check; repress; assuage; appease; abate; subdue; destroy; compose; soothe; calm; quiet. See Alleviate.Allay
Al*lay"\, v. t. To diminish in strength; to abate; to subside. "When the rage allays." --Shak.Allay
Al*lay"\, n. Alleviation; abatement; check. [Obs.]Allay
Al*lay"\, n. Alloy. [Obs.] --Chaucer.Allay
Al*lay"\, v. t. To mix (metals); to mix with a baser metal; to alloy; to deteriorate. [Archaic] --Fuller.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : allay
Spanish:
calmar, aliviar,
German:
verringern,
Japanese:
和らげる
allay
O.E. alecgan "to put down, remit, give up," a Gmc. compound (cf. Goth. uslagjan, O.H.G. irleccan, Ger. erlegen), from a- "down, aside" + lecgan "to lay" (see lay). Pronunciations of early M.E. -y- and -g- were not always distinct, and the word was confused in M.E. with various senses of Romanic-derived alloy and allege, especially the latter in an obs. sense of "to lighten," from L. ad- "to" + levis.
"Amid the overlapping of meanings that thus arose, there was developed a perplexing network of uses of allay and allege, that belong entirely to no one of the original vbs., but combine the senses of two or more of them." [OED]The double -l- is 17c., a mistaken Latinism.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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