pall
pronunciation
How to pronounce pall in British English:
UK [pɔ:l]
How to pronounce pall in American English:
US [pɔl]
-
- Noun:
- a sudden numbing dread
- burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
- hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
-
- Verb:
- become less interesting or attractive
- cause to lose courage
- cover with a pall
- cause surfeit through excess though initially pleasing
- cause to become flat
- lose sparkle or bouquet
- lose strength or effectiveness; become or appear boring, insipid, or tiresome (to)
- get tired of something or somebody
Word Origin
- pall (n.)
- Old English pæll "rich cloth or cloak, purple robe, altar cloth," from Latin pallium "cloak, coverlet, covering," in Tertullian, the garment worn by Christians instead of the Roman toga; related to pallo "robe, cloak," palla "long upper garment of Roman women," perhaps from the root of pellis "skin." Notion of "cloth spread over a coffin" (mid-15c.) led to figurative sense of "dark, gloomy mood" (1742).
- pall (v.)
- "become tiresome," 1700, from Middle English pallen "to become faint, fail in strength" (late 14c.), shortened form of appallen "to dismay, fill with horror or disgust" (see appall). Related: Palled; palling.
Example
- 1. Nearer came the red glow over the white pall which stretched into the darkness a round me .
- 2. Finger-pointing on both sides may cast a pall on the broader relationship .
- 3. Europe 's ageing population will cast a pall over growth , which is driven by rising employment as well as higher labour productivity .
- 4. Casting a pall over the market is the third-quarter earnings season .
- 5. Would beijing 's notorious pollution cast a pall over the show or would it rain on the parade ?