I. ˈdōl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English dāl division, separation, share, lot; akin to Old English dǣl part, share, lot — more at deal
1.
a. archaic : one's allotted share or portion
hath not our great Queen my dole of beauty trebled — Alfred Tennyson
b. archaic : one's lot in life : one's destiny or fate
happy man be his dole , say I; every man to his business — Shakespeare
c. dialect England : an allotment of land in a common
2.
a.
(1) : a giving or distribution of food, money, or clothing to the needy
the weekly dole at a parish charity station
(2) : a direct distribution of government funds made at regular intervals to the unemployed : unemployment insurance
all his family was on the dole — Margaret Kennedy
it was as well to starve or live on the dole in the Old World as the New — Oscar Handlin
b. : something distributed at intervals as charity : a ration for the needy
people able and willing to work forced to accept doles
c. : something portioned out and distributed in driblets or pittances
d. obsolete : a blow or some dire treatment administered
dealing dole among his foes — John Milton
e. : a gratuitous bestowal ; specifically : a distribution of sustaining or subsidizing contributions
the country's industrial recovery is an illusion; it is living on an American dole
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English dolen, from dole, n.
1. : to give or distribute as a charity — used with out
he gathered all the blankets, pillows, pieces of clothing, and other supplies … and doled them out to the distraught, homeless natives of the island — Clay Blair
2. : to give or deliver in small portions (as in driblets) guardedly or calculatingly : parcel — used with out
puts all my money in the bank and just doles out a few dollars to me once in a while — Lucy M. Montgomery
3. : to give or deliver in equal portions or according to a prescribed allotment — used with out
stopped his scribbling long enough to dole out sheets and mattress covers, shelter half and blankets, pack and all the rest of it — James Jones
Synonyms: see distribute
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dol, doel, del, from Old French, from Late Latin dolus pain, grief, alteration (influenced by Latin dolus fraud, deceit) of Latin dolor — more at tale , dolor
1.
a. : grief , sorrow
deep questioning, which probes to endless dole — George Meredith
b. : bad luck : misfortune
2. obsolete : mourning clothes
Synonyms: see sorrow
IV. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English dolen, from Middle French doloir, from Latin dolēre to feel pain, grieve — more at condole
: lament , mourn
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle English, probably from Middle Dutch doel trench used as a landmark; in sense 2, probably from Frisian doel goal, from Old Frisian dōl; both akin to Old High German tuolla small valley, Old Norse dœll inhabitant of a valley, Old English dæl valley — more at dale
1. now dialect Britain : a landmark or boundary marker
2. now dialect Britain , in some children's games : goal
VI. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French dol, from Latin dolus fraud, deceit — more at tale
1. obsolete : trickery
2. Scots law : criminal intent : malice