Revised 2005 More entries for "pale"
paleadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective pale mean?
There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective pale. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the adjective pale?
About 20occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1750 | 23 |
| 1760 | 18 |
| 1770 | 19 |
| 1780 | 20 |
| 1790 | 18 |
| 1800 | 22 |
| 1810 | 19 |
| 1820 | 24 |
| 1830 | 26 |
| 1840 | 28 |
| 1850 | 31 |
| 1860 | 37 |
| 1870 | 36 |
| 1880 | 35 |
| 1890 | 37 |
| 1900 | 34 |
| 1910 | 29 |
| 1920 | 28 |
| 1930 | 25 |
| 1940 | 22 |
| 1950 | 19 |
| 1960 | 16 |
| 1970 | 14 |
| 1980 | 15 |
| 1990 | 15 |
| 2000 | 16 |
| 2010 | 16 |
How is the adjective pale pronounced?
British English
/peɪl/
payl
U.S. English
/peɪl/
payl
Where does the adjective pale come from?
Earliest known use
Middle English
The earliest known use of the adjective pale is in the Middle English period (1150—1500).
OED's earliest evidence for pale is from around 1330, in Gregorius.
pale is a borrowing from French.
Etymons: French paille, pale.
Nearby entries
- palaverous, adj.1788–
- palaver sauce, n.1824–
- palay, n.¹1866–
- palay, n.²1889–
- palazzo, n. & adj.1657–
- pale, n.¹a1382–
- pale, n.²a1547–
- pale, n.³1726–
- pale, n.⁴1743–
- pale, n.⁵1847–
- pale, adj.c1330–
- pale, v.¹a1382–
- pale, v.²a1400–25
- pale, v.³c1400–
- pale, v.⁴1728–
- palea, n.1753–
- paleaceous, adj.1648–
- paleaeform, adj.1857–66
- pale ale, n.1708–
- paleate, adj.1879–
- paleated, adj.1661
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for pale, adj.
pale, adj. was revised in March 2005.
pale, adj. was last modified in March 2024.
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into pale, adj. in March 2024.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
OED First Edition (1904)
OED Second Edition (1989)
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Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .
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Citation details
Factsheet for pale, adj.
Browse entry
Nearby entries
- palaverous, adj.1788–
- palaver sauce, n.1824–
- palay, n.¹1866–
- palay, n.²1889–
- palazzo, n. & adj.1657–
- pale, n.¹a1382–
- pale, n.²a1547–
- pale, n.³1726–
- pale, n.⁴1743–
- pale, n.⁵1847–
- pale, adj.c1330–
- pale, v.¹a1382–
- pale, v.²a1400–25
- pale, v.³c1400–
- pale, v.⁴1728–
- palea, n.1753–
- paleaceous, adj.1648–
- paleaeform, adj.1857–66
- pale ale, n.1708–
- paleate, adj.1879–
- paleated, adj.1661
