pale

(pāl)

1. A stake or pointed stick; a picket.
2. A fence enclosing an area.
3. The area enclosed by a fence or boundary.
4. a. A region or district lying within an imposed boundary or constituting a separate jurisdiction.
   b. Pale The medieval dominions of the English in Ireland. Used with the.
5. Heraldry A wide vertical band in the center of an escutcheon.

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pale¹

(pāl)

1. Whitish in complexion; pallid.
2. a. Of a low intensity of color; light.
   b. 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.

1. To become pale; blanch: paled with fright.
2. To decrease in relative importance.

Related Forms:

• paleˈly adverb

• paleˈness noun