Dictionary
pale
Pronunciation: (pāl), [key]
—adj., pal•er, pal•est,
—v., paled, pal•ing.
—
adj.
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.
—
v.i., v.t.
to make or become pale:
to pale at the sight of blood. pale
Pronunciation: (pāl), [key]
—n., v., paled, pal•ing.
—
n.
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. (
cap.) 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.
9. beyond the pale, beyond the limits of propriety, courtesy, protection, safety, etc.:
Their public conduct is certainly beyond the pale.
—
v.t.
1. to enclose with pales; fence.
2. to encircle or encompass.
pale-
var. of
paleo- before most vowels:
paleethnology. Also, esp. Brit.,palae-.Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
