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

In this year's John Lewis advert, the heroine, Sally, is seen frantically doing last-minute shopping for her sister.

From BBC

However, the counsel for Ms Sturgess' family, Jesse Nicholls, said Dame Sally had said she had given the advice publicly, “because that obviously should have happened but it didn’t”.

From BBC

The inquiry also discussed a letter, dated 16 March, from Dame Sally to Sir Jeremy Heywood which said that on March 7, at the request of No 10 and the Metropolitan Police, she had issued a statement alongside Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley announcing the risk to public health as a result of the incident was “low, based on the current evidence available”.

From BBC

The inquiry into Ms Sturgess' death heard how Dame Sally Davies had worried about someone picking up Novichok from the moment she knew "Russian agents had been involved" in the incident.

From BBC

In her witness statement, read to the inquiry by Francesca Whitelaw KC, Dame Sally said she had been concerned "about the disposal by the foreign agents of any residual nerve agent".

From BBC