sally
pronunciation
How to pronounce sally in British English:
UK [ˈsæli]
How to pronounce sally in American English:
US [ˈsæli]
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- Noun:
- witty remark
- a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position
- a venture off the beaten path
Word Origin
- sally
- sally: [16] To sally is etymologically to ‘jump’. For the word comes ultimately from Latin salīre ‘jump’, source also of English assail, insult, salient, etc. It passed into Old French as salir, which later became saillir. From this was derived a noun saillie ‘jump’, hence ‘sudden breaking out from a defended position to attack’, which English took over and soon turned into a verb. (The name Sally, incidentally, is an alteration of Sarah, by the same phonetic process that produced Del, Hal, Moll, and Tel from Derek, Harry, Mary, and Terence.)=> salient
- Sally
- fem. proper name, alteration of Sarah (compare Hal from Harry, Moll from Mary, etc.). Sally Lunn cakes (1780) supposedly named for the woman in Bath who first made them and sold them in the streets. Sally Ann as a nickname for Salvation Army is recorded from 1927.
- sally (n.)
- 1540s, "a sudden rush, dash, or springing forth; specifically of troops from a besieged place, attacking the besiegers," from Middle French saillie "a rushing forth," noun use of fem. past participle of saillir "to leap," from Latin salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sally-port "gate or passage in a fortification to afford free egress to troops in making a sally" is from 1640s.
- sally (v.)
- 1540s, from sally (n.). Related: Sallied; sallying.
Example
- 1. Old sally lay in bed in a freezing cold room .
- 2. And with everyone 's help . Sally finally gets some food .
- 3. Sally spencer-thomas also suspects that fraying social ties may play a role .
- 4. Sally 's grandfather became more and more abusive as the years passed .
- 5. For example , he calls his grandmother grandma sally .