sally

¹

[ sal-ee ]

noun

, plural sal·lies.

1. a sortie of troops from a besieged place upon an enemy.
2. a sudden rushing forth or activity.
3. an excursion or trip, usually off the main course.
4. an outburst or flight of passion, fancy, etc.:

   a sally of anger.

5. a clever, witty, or fanciful remark.

   Synonyms: witticism, quip

6. Carpentry. a projection, as of the end of a rafter beyond the notch by which the rafter is fitted over the wall plate.

verb (used without object)

, sal·lied, sal·ly·ing.

1. to make a sally, as a body of troops from a besieged place.
2. to set out on a side trip or excursion.
3. to set out briskly or energetically.
4. (of things) to issue forth.

Sally

²

or Sal·lie

[ sal-ee ]

noun

1. a female given name, form of Sarah.

Sally

¹

/ ˈsælɪ /

noun

1. a member of the Salvation Army

sally

²

/ ˈsælɪ /

noun

1. a sudden violent excursion, esp by besieged forces to attack the besiegers; sortie
2. a sudden outburst or emergence into action, expression, or emotion
3. an excursion or jaunt
4. a jocular retort

verb

1. to make a sudden violent excursion
2. often foll by forth to go out on an expedition, etc
3. to come, go, or set out in an energetic manner
4. to rush out suddenly

sally

³

/ ˈsælɪ /

noun

1. the lower part of a bell rope, where it is caught at handstroke, into which coloured wool is woven to make a grip

Derived Forms

• ˈsallier, noun

Other Words From

• salli·er noun
• outsally verb (used with object) outsallied outsallying
• un·sally·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sally¹

1535–45; < Middle French saillie attack, noun use of feminine past participle of saillir to rush forward < Latin salīre to leap

Word History and Origins

Origin of sally¹

C16: from Old French saillie, from saillir to dash forwards, from Latin salīre to leap

Origin of sally²

C19: perhaps from an obsolete or dialect sense of sally ¹leaping movement

Example Sentences

The daisy over his shoulder, he sallied back toward his wife, very pleased with himself.

From Literature

Chess, by and large, is a war game played by nonmartial people who would have trouble identifying the business end of an M16 or explaining the difference between an embrasure and a sally port.

From Washington Times

However, despite learning much about scarce yellow sally, the scientists still have no idea how it got its name.

From BBC

Police said inmate Orlando Mitchell, 34, assaulted Durm on Monday while the van was inside the sally port, or fortified entrance, of the Adult Detention Center on the city’s south side.

From Seattle Times

The inmate, Orlando Mitchell, 34, assaulted Durm while the van was inside the sally port, or fortified entrance, of the Adult Detention Center on the city’s south side, police said.

From Seattle Times