I. ˈvä-lē noun
( plural volleys )
Etymology: Middle French volee flight, from voler to fly, from Old French, from Latin volare
Date: 1573
1.
a. : a flight of missiles (as arrows)
b. : simultaneous discharge of a number of missile weapons
c. : one round per gun in a battery fired as soon as a gun is ready without regard to order
d.
(1) : the flight of the ball (as in volleyball or tennis) or its course before striking the ground ; also : a return of the ball before it touches the ground
(2) : a kick of the ball in soccer before it rebounds
(3) : the exchange of the shuttlecock in badminton following the serve
2.
a. : a burst or emission of many things or a large amount at once
received a volley of angry letters
a volley of praise
b. : a burst of simultaneous or immediately sequential nerve impulses passing to an end organ, synapse, or center
II. verb
( vol·leyed ; vol·ley·ing )
Date: 1591
transitive verb
1. : to discharge in or as if in a volley
2. : to propel (an object) while in the air and before touching the ground ; especially : to hit (a tennis ball) on the volley
intransitive verb
1. : to become discharged in or as if in a volley
2. : to make a volley ; specifically : to volley an object of play (as in tennis)
• vol·ley·er noun