I. pale 1 W3 /peɪl/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin pallidus ; ⇨ ↑ pallid ]
1 . having a skin colour that is very white, or whiter than it usually is:
He looked very pale and drawn.
turn/go pale
He suddenly went pale.
Sharon went deathly pale and looked as if she might faint.
an elderly pale-faced woman
2 . a pale colour has more white in it than usual OPP deep SYN light :
pale blue curtains
3 . pale light is not bright:
the pale gray dawn
4 . pale imitation (of something) something that is similar to, but not as good as, something else:
The cheese is a pale imitation of real Parmesan.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ pale a pale colour is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
|
a flower with pale green leaves
▪ light a light colour is not dark:
His T-shirt was light green.
|
a light blue sweater
▪ pastel pastel colours have a lot of white in them:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
▪ faded light in colour because of being washed many times or affected by the sun:
The curtains were old and faded.
|
a pair of faded jeans
II. pale 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
1 . literary if your face pales, it becomes whiter than usual because you have had a shock:
Kent’s face paled when he saw that Rob had a knife.
2 . pale into insignificance to seem much less important when compared to something bigger, worse, more serious etc:
The amounts of money involved pale into insignificance when compared with the sums spent each year on research.
3 . pale in/by comparison to seem small or unimportant compared to something else
pale in/by comparison to/with
Today’s economic problems pale in comparison with those of the 1930s.
III. pale 3 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: pale 'limit' (15-18 centuries) , from 'fence' (14-19 centuries) , from 'pointed piece of wood driven into the ground' (14-20 centuries) , from Old French pal , from Latin palus ]
beyond the pale offensive or unacceptable:
His opinions are entirely beyond the pale.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ light colours
▪ light used about a colour that is not dark:
a light blue sweater
|
His T-shirt was light green.
▪ pale used about a colour that is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
▪ soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.
▪ pastel used about a colour that has a lot of white in it:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.