Pale Definition
pāl
paled, paler, pales, palest, paling
noun
pales
A narrow, upright, pointed stake used in fences; picket.
Webster's New World
A fence enclosing an area.
American Heritage
A fence; enclosure; boundary; restriction.
Outside the pale of the law, beyond the pale (of respectability)
Webster's New World
A territory or district enclosed within bounds.
Webster's New World
A chaffy bract or scale; esp., a bract at the base of a floret of a composite flower.
Webster's New World
verb
paled, pales, paling
To enclose with pales; fence in.
American Heritage
To make pale.
Webster's New World
To become pale.
Webster's New World
To seem weaker or less important.
Webster's New World
To decrease in relative importance.
American Heritage
adjective
paler, palest
Of a whitish or colorless complexion; pallid; wan.
Webster's New World
Lacking intensity or brilliance.
Webster's New World
Having high lightness and low saturation.
American Heritage
Feeble; weak.
A pale imitation.
Webster's New World
Of a low intensity of light; dim or faint.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
affix
Webster's New World
idiom
beyond the pale
- Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable:
behavior that was quite beyond the pale.
American Heritage
Other Word Forms of Pale
Noun
Singular:
pale
Plural:
palesAdjective
Base Form:
pale
Comparative:
paler
Superlative:
palestIdioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Pale
Origin of Pale
-
Middle English from Old French from Latin pallidus from pallēre to be pale pel-1 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
Middle English from Old French pal from Latin pālus pag- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
From Middle English, from Old French pale, from Latin pallidus (“pale, pallid").
From Wiktionary
-
From Middle English, from Latin pālus (“stake, prop").
From Wiktionary
Related Articles
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to pale using the buttons below.