sally
See also: Sally
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English saly, from Old English saliġ, sealh (“willow”). More at sallow.
Noun edit
sally (plural sallies)
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
willow — see willow
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Etymology 2 edit
Borrowed from French saillie, from sailli, the past participle of the verb saillir (“to leap forth”), itself from Latin salīre (“to leap”).
Noun edit
sally (plural sallies)
- A sortie of troops from a besieged place against an enemy.
- A sudden rushing forth.
- Flocks of these birds stir up flying insects, which can then be picked off in quick sallies.
- (figuratively) A witty statement or quip, usually at the expense of one's interlocutor.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The First Doubt”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 39:
- Till then she had never formed an idea of one so gifted and so charming. She listened with astonishment to her companion's gay sallies, and answers, as piquant as they were ready.
- 1957, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC:
- Bull snuffed; he never paid any attention to her sallies but he heard them.
- 2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”, in The Onion AV Club[1]:
- The stakes are low and the story beats are incidental amid the rush of largely mild visual gags and verbal sallies like “Blood Island! So called because it’s the exact shape of some blood!”
- An excursion or side trip.
- a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:
- Everyone shall know a country better that makes often sallies into it, and traverses it up and down, than he that […] goes still round in the same track.
- A tufted woollen part of a bellrope, used to provide grip when ringing a bell.
Related terms edit
- salient (cognate; both of these military terms come from a verb meaning "to leap forth", but in different ways)
Translations edit
sortie — see also sortie
sudden rushing forth
witty statement or quip
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excursion or side trip
tufted woollen part of a bellrope
See also edit
Verb edit
sally (third-person singular simple present sallies, present participle sallying, simple past and past participle sallied)
- (intransitive) To make a sudden attack (e.g. on an enemy from a defended position).
- The troops sallied in desperation.
- A feeding strategy of some birds is to sally out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch.
- (intransitive) To set out on an excursion; venture; depart (often followed by "forth").
- 1876, The Shamrock (volume 14)
- So I tucked my violin under my arm, and sallied out after the old budgy ragman, determined to ease him of his load at the very first lonesome corner I could track him to.
- 1942 July-August, “The Country Branch”, in Railway Magazine, page 194:
- Adverse comment begins with uncomplimentary observations on the somewhat harder seats, then reaches a crescendo when it is discovered that the perverse and unhurried train is actually going to wait for another connection which is running late, instead of sallying forth at once for the benefit of those already on board and leaving latecomers stranded.
- 2007 September 30, Andrew Salmon, “Dogfights and daring in Korea's deep blue yonder”, in South China Morning Post[2], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 March 2024, Latest:
- Along the Manchurian frontier was a 160km strip of land the US pilots dubbed 'MiG Alley'. Beyond it lay the North Korean, Chinese and Russian squadrons. From those airbases, MiGs sallied forth to attack the bombers striking North Korea.
- 1876, The Shamrock (volume 14)
- (intransitive) To venture off the beaten path.
Translations edit
to make a sudden attack
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to set out on an excursion
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to venture off the beaten path
Etymology 3 edit
Noun edit
sally (plural sallies)
- (New Zealand, slang) A member of the Salvation Army.
Synonyms edit
Related terms edit
Etymology 4 edit
Unknown.
Noun edit
sally (plural sallies)
References edit
- “sally”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.