pale

¹

[ peyl ]

adjective

, pal·er, pal·est.

1. (of a person or a person's skin)
   1. light-colored or lacking in color:

      a pale complexion; his pale face; a pale child.

   2. lacking the usual intensity of color due to fear, illness, stress, etc.:

      She looked pale and unwell when we visited her in the nursing home.

   Antonyms: ruddy

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.

verb (used without object)

, paled, pal·ing.

1. to become pale:

   to pale at the sight of blood.

   Synonyms: fade, whiten, blench, blanch

   Antonyms: deepen

2. to seem less important, remarkable, etc., especially when compared with something else:

   Platinum is so rare that even gold pales in comparison.

verb (used with object)

1. to make pale.

pale

²

[ peyl ]

noun

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. (initial capital letter)
   1. Also called Eng·lish Pale [ing, -glish , peyl],. a district in eastern Ireland included in the Angevin Empire of King Henry II and his successors.
   2. Also called Pale of Set·tle·ment [peyl, , uh, v , set, -l-m, uh, nt]. the territories in the Russian Empire in which Jews were allowed to live.
7. Heraldry. 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.

verb (used with object)

, paled, pal·ing.

1. to enclose with pales; fence.
2. to encircle or encompass.

pale

¹

/ peɪl /

adjective

1. lacking brightness of colour; whitish

   pale morning light

2. (of a colour) whitish; produced by a relatively small quantity of colouring agent
3. dim or wan

   the pale stars

4. feeble

   a pale effort

5. a euphemism for White

verb

1. to make or become pale or paler; blanch
2. introften foll bybefore to lose superiority or importance (in comparison to)

   her beauty paled before that of her hostess

pale

²

/ peɪl /

noun

1. a wooden post or strip used as an upright member in a fence
2. an enclosing barrier, esp a fence made of pales
3. an area enclosed by a pale
4. a sphere of activity within which certain restrictions are applied
5. heraldry an ordinary consisting of a vertical stripe, usually in the centre of a shield
6. beyond the pale
   outside the limits of social convention

verb

1. tr to enclose with pales

Derived Forms

• ˈpaleness, noun
• ˈpalely, adverb

Other Words From

• palely adverb
• paleness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pale¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin pallidus pallid none

Origin of pale²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pal(e), paele, from Old French pal, pel “stake,” from Latin pālus “wooden pole, wooden peg, stake”; peel ³; pole ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of pale¹

C13: from Old French palle, from Latin pallidus pale, from pallēre to look wan

Origin of pale²

C14: from Old French pal, from Latin pālus stake; compare pole ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. beyond the pale, beyond the limits of proper behavior, courtesy, protection, safety, etc.:

   Their public comments are certainly beyond the pale.

More idioms and phrases containing pale

see beyond the pale .

Synonym Study

Pale, pallid, wan imply an absence of color, especially from the human countenance. Pale implies a faintness or absence of color, which may be natural when applied to things, the pale blue of a violet, but when used to refer to the human face usually means an unnatural and often temporary absence of color, as arising from sickness or sudden emotion: pale cheeks. Pallid , limited mainly to the human countenance, implies an excessive paleness induced by intense emotion, disease, or death: the pallid lips of the dying man. Wan implies a sickly paleness, as after a long illness: wan and thin; the suggestion of weakness may be more prominent than that of lack of color: a wan smile.

Example Sentences

For some, anything that comes after such a torture would pale in comparison.

From Los Angeles Times

Their reunion, in a noisy contact centre, went well – but the following day Cassie was very tired, pale and limp.

From BBC

The British carrier was sailing with an air wing of a few helicopters and eight F-35 jets - a pale reflection of US military clout.

From BBC

Her daughter was breathing heavily, hunched over in pain, pale in the face.

From Salon

It doesn't look like much — just a small, thin and pale little thing, only about 15 centimeters long.

From Salon