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pales

 - 6 dictionary results

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.
Use pales in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < MF < L pallidus pallid

Related forms:
palely, adverb
paleness, noun

Synonyms:
1. Pale, pallid, wan imply an absence of color, esp. 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.

Antonyms:
1. ruddy. 5. darken.

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.
—Idiom
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. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To pales
pale 1   (pāl)   
n.  

  1. A stake or pointed stick; a picket.

  2. A fence enclosing an area.

  3. The area enclosed by a fence or boundary.

    1. A region or district lying within an imposed boundary or constituting a separate jurisdiction.

    2. Pale The medieval dominions of the English in Ireland. Used with the.

  5. Heraldry A wide vertical band in the center of an escutcheon.

tr.v.   paled, pal·ing, pales
To enclose with pales; fence in.

[Middle English, from Old French pal, from Latin pālus; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]
pale 2   (pāl)   
adj.   pal·er, pal·est

  1. Whitish in complexion; pallid.

    1. Of a low intensity of color; light.

    2. Having high lightness and low saturation.

  3. Of a low intensity of light; dim or faint: "a late afternoon sun coming through the el tracks and falling in pale oblongs on the cracked, empty sidewalks" (Jimmy Breslin).

  4. Feeble; weak: a pale rendition of the aria.

v.   paled, pal·ing, pales

v.   tr.
To cause to turn pale.
v.   intr.

  1. To become pale; blanch: paled with fright.

  2. To decrease in relative importance.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pallidus, from pallēre, to be pale; see pel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
pale'ly adv., pale'ness 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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Word Origin & History

pale  (n.)
c.1330, "fence of pointed stakes," from L. palus "stake," related to pangere "to fix or fasten" (see pact). Fig. 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 1547.
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
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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