ALLAY


Meaning of ALLAY in English

I. əˈlā, aˈ- verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English alayen, aleggen, from Old English ālecgan, from ā- (perfective prefix) + lecgan to lay — more at abear , lay

transitive verb

1. obsolete : overthrow , subdue

allay this thy abortive pride — Shakespeare

2. : to subdue or reduce in intensity or severity : alleviate , relieve , abate

this ration is palatable, very rapidly allays hunger — H.G.Armstrong

widely used in our community to allay aches — Ben Riker

sought … to catch every river breeze to allay the summer heat — Maxwell Mays

3. : to put at rest (as disquiet, fear, or suspicion) : make quiet : pacify , appease , quell , calm

some answer to allay all his anxieties — Norman Kelman

the turmoil that had been partly allayed returned — Elizabeth M. Roberts

competition was embittered rather than allayed — Times Literary Supplement

4.

a. : to limit the pleasurable or good effect of : moderate by something unpleasant

the victors' joy was allayed by the death of their prince

b. : weaken , diminish , qualify

intransitive verb

obsolete : to diminish in strength : subside

when the rage allays — Shakespeare

Synonyms: see relieve

II. noun

( -s )

1. archaic : alleviation , abatement

2. obsolete : check , stoppage

III. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English alayen, from Middle French alayer, aleier, aloier, alier to combine, from Latin alligare to bind, bind to — more at ally

archaic : alloy

IV. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English alay, from Middle French alay, aloi, from alayer, aloier, v.

archaic : alloy

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.