pale
Pronunciation: (pāl), [key]
— adj., v., pal•er, pal•est, paled, pal•ing.
—adj.
- lacking intensity of color; colorless or whitish: a pale complexion.
- of a low degree of chroma, saturation, or purity; approaching white or gray: pale yellow.
- not bright or brilliant; dim: the pale moon.
- faint or feeble; lacking vigor: a pale protest.
—v.i., v.t.
- to make or become pale: to pale at the sight of blood.
pale
Pronunciation: (pāl), [key]
— n., v., paled, pal•ing.
—n.
- a stake or picket, as of a fence.
- an enclosing or confining barrier; enclosure.
- an enclosed area.
- limits; bounds: outside the pale of his jurisdiction.
- a district or region within designated bounds.
- (cap.) Also calleda district in eastern Ireland included in the Angevin Empire of King Henry II and his successors.
- an ordinary in the form of a broad vertical stripe at the center of an escutcheon.
- a shore used inside to support the deck beams of a hull under construction.
- beyond the limits of propriety, courtesy, protection, safety, etc.: Their public conduct is certainly beyond the pale.
—v.t.
- to enclose with pales; fence.
- to encircle or encompass.
pale-
- var. ofbefore most vowels: paleethnology.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.