pale

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pale

pallid; light; feeble; weak: The patient looked pale and thin.

Not to be confused with:

pail – a cylindrical vessel with a handle; a bucket: Fetch a pail of water.

pale1

pale¹

(pāl)

1. A stake or pointed stick; a picket.

2. A fence enclosing an area.

3. The area enclosed by a fence or boundary.

a. A region or district lying within an imposed boundary or constituting a separate jurisdiction.

b. Pale The medieval dominions of the English in Ireland. Used with the.

5. Heraldry A wide vertical band in the center of an escutcheon.

tr.v. paled, pal·ing, pales

To enclose with pales; fence in.

Idiom:

beyond the pale

Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable: behavior that was quite beyond the pale.

pale²

(pāl)

adj. pal·er, pal·est

1. Whitish in complexion; pallid.

a. Of a low intensity of color; light.

b. Having high lightness and low saturation.

3. Of a low intensity of light; dim or faint: "a late afternoon sun coming through the el tracks and falling in pale oblongs on the cracked, empty sidewalks" (Jimmy Breslin).

4. Feeble; weak: a pale rendition of the aria.

v. paled, pal·ing, pales

v.tr.

To cause to turn pale.

v.intr.

1. To become pale; blanch: paled with fright.

2. To decrease in relative importance.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pallidus, from pallēre, to be pale; see pel- in Indo-European roots.]

pale′ly adv.

pale′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pale

(peɪl)

adj

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. South African a euphemism for White

6. to make or become pale or paler; blanch

7. (often foll by: before) to lose superiority or importance (in comparison to): her beauty paled before that of her hostess.

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

ˈpalely adv

ˈpaleness n

pale

(peɪl)

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) 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

(tr) to enclose with pales

[C14: from Old French pal, from Latin pālus stake; compare pole¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pale¹

(peɪl)

adj. pal•er, pal•est, 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; weak: a pale protest.

v.i., v.t.

5. to make or become pale: to pale at the sight of blood.

[1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French < Latin pallidus pallid]

pale′ly, adv.

pale′ness, n.

pale²

(peɪl)

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 my jurisdiction.

5. a district or region within designated bounds.

6. a central vertical stripe in a heraldic escutcheon.

v.t.

7. to enclose with pales; fence.

8. to encircle or encompass.

Idioms:

beyond the pale, beyond the limits of propriety, courtesy, etc.

[1300–50; Middle English (north), Old English pāl < Latin pālus stake]

pale-

var. of paleo- before vowels: palearctic.

Also, esp. Brit.,palae-.

pale

Past participle: paled
Gerund: paling

Imperative
pale
pale

Present
I pale
you pale
he/she/it pales
we pale
you pale
they pale

Preterite
I paled
you paled
he/she/it paled
we paled
you paled
they paled

Present Continuous
I am paling
you are paling
he/she/it is paling
we are paling
you are paling
they are paling

Present Perfect
I have paled
you have paled
he/she/it has paled
we have paled
you have paled
they have paled

Past Continuous
I was paling
you were paling
he/she/it was paling
we were paling
you were paling
they were paling

Past Perfect
I had paled
you had paled
he/she/it had paled
we had paled
you had paled
they had paled

Future
I will pale
you will pale
he/she/it will pale
we will pale
you will pale
they will pale

Future Perfect
I will have paled
you will have paled
he/she/it will have paled
we will have paled
you will have paled
they will have paled

Future Continuous
I will be paling
you will be paling
he/she/it will be paling
we will be paling
you will be paling
they will be paling

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been paling
you have been paling
he/she/it has been paling
we have been paling
you have been paling
they have been paling

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been paling
you will have been paling
he/she/it will have been paling
we will have been paling
you will have been paling
they will have been paling

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been paling
you had been paling
he/she/it had been paling
we had been paling
you had been paling
they had been paling

Conditional
I would pale
you would pale
he/she/it would pale
we would pale
you would pale
they would pale

Past Conditional
I would have paled
you would have paled
he/she/it would have paled
we would have paled
you would have paled
they would have paled

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	pale - a wooden strip forming part of a fence picket paling, picket fence - a fence made of upright pickets strip - thin piece of wood or metal
Verb	1.	pale - turn pale, as if in fear blanch, blench discolour, discolor, color, colour - change color, often in an undesired manner; "The shirts discolored"
Adj.	1.	pale - very light colored; highly diluted with white; "pale seagreen"; "pale blue eyes" light-colored, light - (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent; "light blue"; "light colors such as pastels"; "a light-colored powder"
	2.	pale - (of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble; "the pale light of a half moon"; "a pale sun"; "the late afternoon light coming through the el tracks fell in pale oblongs on the street"; "a pallid sky"; "the pale (or wan) stars"; "the wan light of dawn" wan, pallid, sick weak - wanting in physical strength; "a weak pillar"
	3.	pale - lacking in vitality or interest or effectiveness; "a pale rendition of the aria"; "pale prose with the faint sweetness of lavender"; "a pallid performance" pallid colorless, colourless - lacking in variety and interest; "a colorless and unimaginative person"; "a colorless description of the parade"
	4.	pale - abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress; "the pallid face of the invalid"; "her wan face suddenly flushed" pallid, wan colorless, colourless - weak in color; not colorful
	5.	pale - not full or rich; "high, pale, pure and lovely song" thin - (of sound) lacking resonance or volume; "a thin feeble cry"

pale

adjective

3. white, pasty, bleached, washed-out, wan, bloodless, colourless, pallid, anaemic, ashen, sallow, whitish, ashy, like death warmed up (informal) She looked pale and tired.
white glowing, blooming, flushed, ruddy, sanguine, florid, rosy-cheeked, rubicund

verb

2. become pale, blanch, whiten, go white, lose colour Her face paled at the news.

pale

beyond the pale unacceptable, not done, forbidden, irregular, indecent, unsuitable, improper, barbaric, unspeakable, out of line, unseemly, inadmissible His behaviour was beyond the pale.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

pale

adjective

1. Lacking color:

ashen, ashy, bloodless, cadaverous, colorless, livid, lurid, pallid, pasty, sallow, wan, waxen.

2. Of a light color or complexion:

3. Being weak in quality or substance:

verb

To lose normal coloration; turn pale:

Translations

باهِت اللوْنشَاحِبٌشاحِبيَشْحُب، يَمْتَقِع

pàl·lid

bledýsvětlýzblednout

blegbleg-blegtblive bleg

kalpeakalvakkakalvetakelmeävaalea

blijed

elsápadsápadt

pucat

fölnafölur

薄い

연한

pallidus

bćltiblanktiblankumasblykštiblyškumas

bālsgaišs, bālsnobālētnobālis

pal

zblednúť

bled

blekblekna

ซีดเผือด

tái nhợt

pale

¹ [peɪl]

A. ADJ (paler (compar) (palest (superl)))

pale

² [peɪl] N (= stake) → estaca f
to be beyond the pale → ser inaceptable

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pale

[ˈpeɪl]

adj

[sunshine, moonlight, sky] → pâle; [skin, complexion] → clair(e)

[person, face] → pâle
You look awfully pale: are you all right? → Tu as l'air terriblement pâle: ça va bien?
to turn pale, to go pale → pâlir
to grow pale → devenir pâle

n
to be beyond the pale → dépasser les bornespale ale n (British) bière blonde légère

pale

adj (+er)

(= faint) moon, sun → fahl

pale

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pale

(peil) adjective

1. (of a person, his face etc) having less colour than normal. a pale face; She went pale with fear.

2. (of a colour) closer to white than black; not dark. pale green.

verb

to become pale. She paled at the bad news.

ˈpaleness noun

pale

→ شَاحِبٌ bledý bleg blass χλωμός pálido kalpea pâle blijed pallido 薄い 연한 bleek blek blady pálido бледный blek ซีดเผือด soluk tái nhợt 苍白的

pale

a. pálido-a, descolorido-a.

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