sally

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See also: Sally

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsæli/
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -æli

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English saly, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English saliġ, sealh (“willow”). More at sallow.

Noun

sally (plural sallies)

  1. A willow
  2. Any tree that looks like a willow
  3. An object made from the above trees' wood
Derived terms
Translations
willow — see willow

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French saillie, from sailli, the past participle of the verb saillir (“to leap forth”), itself from Latin salīre (“to leap”)

Noun

sally (plural sallies)

  1. A sortie of troops from a besieged place against an enemy.
  2. A sudden rushing forth.
  3. (figuratively) A witty statement or quip, usually at the expense of one's interlocutor.
    • 2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club‎[1]:
      The stakes are low and the story beats are incidental amid the rush of largely mild visual gags and verbal sallies like “Blood Island! So called because it’s the exact shape of some blood!”
  4. An excursion or side trip.
    • John Locke
      Everyone shall know a country better that makes often sallies into it, and traverses it up and down, than he that […] goes still round in the same track.
  5. A tufted woollen part of a bellrope, used to provide grip when ringing a bell.
Translations
See also

Verb

sally (third-person singular simple present sall, present participle ies, simple past and past participle sallied)

  1. (intransitive) To make a sudden attack on an enemy from a defended position.
    The troops sallied in desperation.
  2. (intransitive) To set out on an excursion; venture; depart (often followed by "forth.")
    As she sallied forth from her boudoir, you would never have guessed how quickly she could strip for action. -William Manchester
  3. (intransitive) To venture off the beaten path.
Translations

Etymology 3

salvation +‎ -y

Noun

sally (plural sallies)

  1. (New Zealand, slang) A member of the Salvation Army.
Synonyms

Related terms

Etymology 4

Noun

sally (plural sallies)

  1. A kind of stonefly.
  2. A wren.

Anagrams

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