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Webster 1913 Edition


Sally

Sal′ly

(săl′ly̆)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Sallied
(-lĭd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sallying
.]
[F.
saillir
, fr. L.
salire
to leap, spring, akin to Gr.
ἄλλεσθαι
; cf. Skr.
sṛ
to go, to flow. Cf.
Salient
,
Assail
,
Assault
,
Exult
,
Insult
,
Saltation
,
Saltire
.]
To leap or rush out; to burst forth; to issue suddenly; as a body of troops from a fortified place to attack besiegers; to make a sally.
They break the truce, and
sally
out by night.
Dryden.
The foe retires, – she heads the
sallying
host.
Byron.

Sal′ly

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Sallies
(#)
.
[F.
saillie
, fr.
saillir
. See
Sally
,
Verb.
]
1.
A leaping forth; a darting; a spring.
2.
A rushing or bursting forth; a quick issue; a sudden eruption; specifically, an issuing of troops from a place besieged to attack the besiegers; a sortie.
Sallies
were made by the Spaniards, but they were beaten in with loss.
Bacon.
3.
An excursion from the usual track; range; digression; deviation.
Every one 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.
Locke.
4.
A flight of fancy, liveliness, wit, or the like; a flashing forth of a quick and active mind.
The unaffected mirth with which she enjoyed his
sallies
.
Sir W. Scott.
5.
Transgression of the limits of soberness or steadiness; act of levity; wild gayety; frolic; escapade.
The excursion was esteemed but a
sally
of youth.
Sir H. Wotton.
Sally port
.
(a)
(Fort.)
A postern gate, or a passage underground, from the inner to the outer works, to afford free egress for troops in a sortie
.
(b)
(Naval)
A large port on each quarter of a fireship, for the escape of the men into boats when the train is fired; a large port in an old-fashioned three-decker or a large modern ironclad.

Webster 1828 Edition


Sally

SAL'LY

,
Noun.
[See the Verb.] In a general sense, a spring; a darting or shooting. Hence,
1.
An issue or rushing of troops from a besieged place to attack the besiegers.
2.
A spring or darting of intellect, fancy or imagination; flight; sprightly exertion. We say, sallies of wit, sallies of imagination.
3.
Excursion from the usual track; range.
He who often makes sallies into a country, and traverses it up and down, will know it better than one that goes always round in the same track.
4.
Act of levity or extravagance; wild gaiety; frolic; a bounding or darting beyond ordinary rules; as a sally of youth; a sally of levity.

SAL'LY

,
Verb.
I.
[L. salio. Gr. to impel, to shoot. See Solar, from L. sol. Gr.]
1.
To issue or rush out, as a body of troops from a fortified place to attack besiegers.
They break the truce, and sally out by night.
2.
To issue suddenly; to make a sudden eruption.

Definition 2024


Sally

Sally

See also: sally

English

Alternative forms

  • (as a female given name): Sallie

Proper noun

Sally

  1. A diminutive of the female given name Sarah, also used as a formal given name.
    • 1969, Doris Lessing, The Four-Gated City, Bantam Books (1970), page 114:
      She submitted―for what alternative did she have?―to being Sally in this family, but she always signed herself, Sarah.
    • 2008, Stephen King, Just After Sunset, Simon and Schuster (2009), ISBN 1416586652, page 8:
      Maybe her first name was Sally, but David thought he would have remembered a name like that; there were so few Sallys these days. Now the world belonged to Ambers, Ashleys, and Tiffanys.
  2. (Britain) A nickname for the Salvation Army

Anagrams


Danish

Etymology

From English Sally.

Proper noun

Sally

  1. A female given name.

Swedish

Etymology

From English Sally. First recorded as a Swedish given name in 1784.

Proper noun

Sally

  1. A female given name.

sally

sally

See also: Sally

English

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
  • sally rod
Translations

Etymology 2

Borrowing 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:
      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.
See also
Translations

Verb

sally (third-person singular simple present sallies, present participle sallying, 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

From salvation in Salvation Army, from Latin salvatio

Noun

sally (plural sallies)

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

Anagrams