pall

¹ American  

[pawl] / pɔl /

noun

1. a cloth, often of velvet, for spreading over a coffin, bier, or tomb.

2. a coffin.

3. anything that covers, shrouds, or overspreads, especially with darkness or gloom.

   Synonyms:

   melancholy, veil, shroud, shadow, darkness, cloud

4. Ecclesiastical.

   1. pallium.

   2. a linen cloth or a square cloth-covered piece of cardboard used to cover a chalice.

5. Heraldry. pairle.

6. Archaic. a cloth spread upon an altar; corporal.

7. Archaic. a garment, especially a robe, cloak, or the like.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover with or as with a pall.

pall ² American  

[pawl] / pɔl /

verb (used without object)

1. to have a wearying or tiresome effect (usually followed by on orupon ).

2. to become distasteful or unpleasant.

3. to become satiated or cloyed with something.

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verb (used with object)

1. to satiate or cloy.

   Synonyms:

   surfeit, sate, glut

2. to make dull, distasteful, or unpleasant.

pall ¹ British  

/ pɔːl /

noun

1. a cloth covering, usually black, spread over a coffin or tomb

2. a coffin, esp during the funeral ceremony

3. a dark heavy covering; shroud

   the clouds formed a pall over the sky

4. a depressing or oppressive atmosphere

   her bereavement cast a pall on the party

5. heraldry an ordinary consisting of a Y-shaped bearing

6. Christianity

   1. a small square linen cloth with which the chalice is covered at the Eucharist

   2. an archaic word for pallium

7. an obsolete word for cloak

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verb

1. (tr) to cover or depress with a pall

pall ² British  

/ pɔːl /

verb

1. to become or appear boring, insipid, or tiresome (to)

   history classes palled on me

2. to cloy or satiate, or become cloyed or satiated

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Other Word Forms

• pall-like adjective

Etymology

Origin of pall¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English pal, palle “fine cloth; cloak; robe,” Old English pæll, from Latin pallium “cloak”

Origin of pall²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pallen “impair; weaken”; shortened variant of appall

Explanation

A pall was originally a coffin’s cloak. Now pall usually means that an event or situation is — literally or figuratively — covered in gloom, like disappointing news that casts a pall on your day. The noun pall comes from the Latin word, pallium, “covering or cloak.” This use of pall has come to mean "gloom" like your grandparents' not being there to celebrate with you that casts a pall over your graduation. The verb pall is used when someone or something becomes boring or less interesting over time. Your initial willingness to perform household chores began to pall when you realized that no one else was willing to chip in.

Example Sentences

Pope Leo XIV is set to mark Easter Sunday for the first time as pontiff, with the Middle East war casting a pall over the most important date in the Christian calendar.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

The merger with Paramount, which the companies aim to close by the end of September, has cast a pall over Warner Bros., making its box-office success this year bittersweet.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

“Rising energy prices are already casting a pall over economic growth prospects and the ability of central banks to keep inflation in check,” Bloomberg News reports.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

But a dark pall seemed to hang over this space.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

A pall of another, quite literal, sort continued to hang over the larger world as well that month.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• cloak
• shroud
• veil