pall

1
[ pawl ]
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noun
  1. a cloth, often of velvet, for spreading over a coffin, bier, or tomb.

  2. a coffin.

  1. anything that covers, shrouds, or overspreads, especially with darkness or gloom.

  2. Ecclesiastical.

    • a linen cloth or a square cloth-covered piece of cardboard used to cover a chalice.

  3. Heraldry. pairle.

  4. Archaic. a cloth spread upon an altar; corporal.

  5. Archaic. a garment, especially a robe, cloak, or the like.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cover with or as with a pall.

Origin of pall

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English pal, palle “fine cloth; cloak; robe,” Old English pæll, from Latin pallium “cloak”

Other words for pall

Other words from pall

  • pall-like, adjective

Words that may be confused with pall

Words Nearby pall

Other definitions for pall (2 of 2)

pall2
[ pawl ]

verb (used without object)
  1. to have a wearying or tiresome effect (usually followed by on or upon).

  2. to become distasteful or unpleasant.

  1. to become satiated or cloyed with something.

verb (used with object)
  1. to satiate or cloy.

  2. to make dull, distasteful, or unpleasant.

Origin of pall

2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pallen “impair; weaken”; shortened variant of appall

Other words for pall

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pall in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pall (1 of 2)

pall1

/ (pɔːl) /


noun
  1. a cloth covering, usually black, spread over a coffin or tomb

  2. a coffin, esp during the funeral ceremony

  1. a dark heavy covering; shroud: the clouds formed a pall over the sky

  2. a depressing or oppressive atmosphere: her bereavement cast a pall on the party

  3. heraldry an ordinary consisting of a Y-shaped bearing

  4. Christianity

    • a small square linen cloth with which the chalice is covered at the Eucharist

    • an archaic word for pallium (def. 2)

  5. an obsolete word for cloak

verb
  1. (tr) to cover or depress with a pall

Origin of pall

1
Old English pæll, from Latin: pallium

British Dictionary definitions for pall (2 of 2)

pall2

/ (pɔːl) /


verb
  1. (intr often foll by on) to become or appear boring, insipid, or tiresome (to): history classes palled on me

  2. to cloy or satiate, or become cloyed or satiated

Origin of pall

2
C14: variant of appal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012