n. 1 a cloth spread over a coffin, hearse, or tomb. 2 a shoulder-band with pendants, worn as an ecclesiastical vestment and sign of authority. 3 a dark covering (a pall of darkness; a pall of smoke). 4 Heraldry a Y-shaped bearing charged with crosses representing the front of an ecclesiastical pall.
[ OE pll, f. L pallium cloak ]