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.

[Middle English, from Old French pal, from Latin pālus; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]

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:

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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

1. light, soft, faded, subtle, muted, bleached, pastel, light-coloured a pale blue dress

2. dim, weak, faint, feeble, thin, wan, watery A pale light seeped through the window.

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

4. poor, weak, inadequate, pathetic, feeble a pale imitation of the real thing

verb

1. fade, dull, diminish, decrease, dim, lessen, grow dull, lose lustre My problems paled in comparison with his.

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

pale

noun post, stake, paling, upright, picket, slat, palisade the pales of the fence

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:

alabaster, fair, ivory, light.

3. Being weak in quality or substance:

anemic, bloodless, pallid, waterish, watery.

verb

To lose normal coloration; turn pale:

blanch, bleach, etiolate, wan.

Translations

باهِت اللوْنشَاحِبٌشاحِبيَشْحُب، يَمْتَقِع

pàl·lid

bledýsvětlýzblednout

blegbleg-blegtblive bleg

blass erblassen hell Stelze

χλομός χλωμιάζω χλωμός ωχρός

pálido palidecer claro

kalpeakalvakkakalvetakelmeävaalea

pâle pâlir blême blêmir échalas

blijed

elsápadsápadt

pucat

fölnafölur

pallido sbiadire scolorito superare ogni limite diventare insignificante

薄い

연한

pallidus

bćltiblanktiblankumasblykštiblyškumas

bālsgaišs, bālsnobālētnobālis

bleek

blek blekne

blady pal

pálido clarear claro empalidecer

pal

бледный побледнеть бескровный бледнеть

zblednúť

bled

blekblekna

ซีดเผือด

soluk açıkbenzi uçukrengi atmaksolmak

tái nhợt

苍白的变淡变苍白失色淡的

pale

¹ [peɪl]

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

1. [person, face] (naturally) → blanco; (from illness, shock) → pálido
she had pale skin → tenía la piel muy blanca
she looked pale → se la veía pálida
you look very pale → estás muy pálido
she was deathly pale → estaba pálida como la muerte
to go or grow or turn pale [person] → palidecer, ponerse pálido
her face went pale with shock → paledeció or se puso pálida del susto

2. (= not bright) [light, daylight] → tenue, pálido; [moon] → pálido
the pale light of dawn → la tenue or pálida luz del alba
a pale imitation → una burda imitación

3. (= not dark) [colour] → claro
a pale blue dress → un vestido azul claro

B. VI

1. [person] → palidecer, ponerse pálido
his face paled with fear → palideció or se puso pálido de miedo

2. (fig) (= seem insignificant) it pales into insignificance beside → se vuelve insignificante en comparación con or al compararse con ...
her beauty paled beside her mother's → su belleza perdía esplendor al lado de la de su madre

C. CPD pale ale N (Brit) → cerveza f rubia suave

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

[colour] → pâle
pale blue → bleu pâle inv
a pale blue shirt → une chemise bleu pâle
pale green → vert pâle
dressed in pale green → habillé(e) en vert pâle
pale pink → rose pâle

[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

[person] → pâlir

(= seem insignificant) to pale into insignificance beside sth, to pale into insignificance in comparison with sth → sembler bien pâle à côté de qch
Their own suffering paled into insignificance beside that of their son → Leurs propres souffrances semblaient bien pâles à côté de celles de leur fils.
to pale in comparison → sembler bien pâle en comparaison

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

pale

pale ale

n (Brit) → helleres Dunkelbier

paleface

n → Bleichgesicht nt

pale-faced

adj → bleich, blass

pale

adj (+er)

colour, complexion, material → blass; face → blass; (implying unhealthy etc) → bleich, fahl; light → blass, bleich, fahl; she has pale gold hair → sie hat rötlich blondes Haar; pale green/orange etc → blass- or zartgrün/-orange etc; to go or turn pale with fear → vor Schreck bleich or blass werden; but a pale imitation of the real thing → nur ein Abklatsch m → des Originals

(= faint) moon, sun → fahl

vi (person) → erbleichen, blass or bleich werden; (paper etc) → verblassen; to pale with fear → vor Angst erblassen; but X pales beside Y → neben Y verblasst X direkt; to pale into insignificance → zur Bedeutungslosigkeit herabsinken; to pale (into insignificance) beside or alongside something → neben etw (dat) → bedeutungslos sein

pale

n (= stake) → Pfahl m; those last few remarks were quite beyond the pale → diese letzten Bemerkungen haben eindeutig die Grenzen überschritten; he is now regarded as beyond the pale → man betrachtet ihn jetzt als indiskutabel

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

pale

¹ [peɪl]

1. adj (-r (comp) (-st (superl))) (gen) → pallido/a; (colour) → chiaro/a, pallido/a
pale blue → azzurro or blu pallido inv
to grow or turn pale → diventare pallido/a, impallidire

2. vi → impallidire
to pale into insignificance (beside) → perdere d'importanza (nei confronti di)

pale

² [peɪl] n to be beyond the pale → aver oltrepassato ogni limite

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.

pale

adj pálido

References in classic literature ?

My mind grew very uneasy on the subject of the pale young gentleman.

View in context

the pale criminal hath bowed his head: out of his eye speaketh the great contempt.

View in context

The sublime master would, however, have been altogether unable to render the sorrow expressed in the face of Rosa, when she saw this pale, handsome young man slowly climbing the stairs, and thought of the full import of the words, which her father had just spoken, "You will have the family cell."

View in context

His complexion was pale, not of that deadly pallor which is a kind of neutral beauty, but of a bilious, yellow hue; his colorless hair was short and scarcely extended beyond the circle formed by the hat around his head, and his light blue eyes seemed destitute of any expression.

View in context

He had always admired the high and mighty old lady, who, in spite of having been only Catherine Spicer of Staten Island, with a father mysteriously discredited, and neither money nor position enough to make people forget it, had allied herself with the head of the wealthy Mingott line, married two of her daughters to "foreigners" (an Italian marquis and an English banker), and put the crowning touch to her audacities by building a large house of pale cream-coloured stone (when brown sandstone seemed as much the only wear as a frock-coat in the afternoon) in an inaccessible wilderness near the Central Park.

View in context

There was some smoke, and the Frenchmen were doing something near the pit, with pale faces and trembling hands.

View in context

Her blooming full-pulsed youth stood there in a moral imprisonment which made itself one with the chill, colorless, narrowed landscape, with the shrunken furniture, the never-read books, and the ghostly stag in a pale fantastic world that seemed to be vanishing from the daylight.

View in context

"Oh, Anne," gasped Diana, suddenly turning very pale and beginning to tremble.

View in context

"Do the pale faces love their children less in the morning than at night?" asked the Indian, coldly.

View in context

Villefort became pale; he understood the old man's meaning.

View in context

The poor girl, pale as death and trembling in all her limbs, wished to delay her lover; but Milady, with her ear on the watch, had heard the noise D'Artagnan had made, and opening the door, said, "Come in."

View in context

Philip, observing that he wore a pale blue tie, had on that account taken a sudden dislike to him.

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