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Webster 1913 Edition

Allay

Al-lay′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Allayed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Allaying
.]
[OE.
alaien
,
aleggen
, to lay down, put down, humble, put an end to, AS.
ālecgan
;
ā-
(cf. Goth.
us-
, G.
er-
, orig. meaning
out
) +
lecgan
to lay; but confused with old forms of
allege
,
alloy
,
alegge
. See
Lay
.]
1.
To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm;
as, to
allay
popular excitement; to
allay
the tumult of the passions.
2.
To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate;
as, to
allay
the severity of affliction or the bitterness of adversity
.
It would
allay
the burning quality of that fell poison.
Shakespeare
Syn. – To alleviate; check; repress; assuage; appease; abate; subdue; destroy; compose; soothe; calm; quiet. See
Alleviate
.

Al-lay′

,
Verb.
T.
To diminish in strength; to abate; to subside.
“When the rage allays.”
Shak.

Al-lay′

,
Noun.
Alleviation; abatement; check.
[Obs.]

Al-lay′

,
Noun.
Alloy.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Al-lay′

,
Verb.
T.
To mix (metals); to mix with a baser metal; to alloy; to deteriorate.
[Archaic]
Fuller.

Webster 1828 Edition

Allay

ALLA'Y

,
Verb.
T.
[Gr.; L.ligo, to bind; but this may be the same word differently applied, that is, to set, to fix, to make fast, to unite. Allay and alloy were formerly used indifferently; but I have recognized an entire distinction between them, applying alloy to metals.]
1.
To make quiet; to pacify, or appease; as, to allay the tumult of the passions, or to allay civil commotions.
2.
To abate, mitigate, subdue or destroy; as, to allay grief or pain.
Females, who soften and allay the bitterness of adversity.
3.
To obtund or repress as acrimony; as, to allay the acrid qualities of a substance.
4.
Formerly, to reduce the purity of; as, to allay metals. But, in this sense, alloy is now exclusively used. [See Alloy.]

ALLA'Y

, n.
1.
Formerly, a baser metal mixed with a finer; but in this sense it is now written alloy, which see.
2.
That which allays, or abates the predominant qualities; as, the allay of colors.
Also, abatement; diminution by means of some mixture; as, joy without allay. But alloy is now more generally used.

Definition 2024

allay

allay

English

Alternative forms

  • alay (obsolete)

Verb

allay ‎(third-person singular simple present allays, present participle allaying, simple past and past participle allayed)

  1. (transitive) To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
    to allay popular excitement
    to allay the tumult of the passions
  2. (transitive) To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate.
    to allay the severity of affliction or the bitterness of adversity
  3. (intransitive, obsolete) To subside, abate, become peaceful.
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark IV:
      And the wynde alayed, and there folowed a greate calme: and he sayde unto them: why are ye fearfull?
    • Shakespeare
      When the rage allays.
  4. (archaic) To mix (metals); to mix with a baser metal; to alloy; to deteriorate.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Fuller to this entry?)

Quotations

He had to pretend to be drunk in order to allay the suspicions which might have been aroused by his appearance at the gate.
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in A Study in Scarlet

Synonyms

  • alleviate; check; repress; assuage; appease; abate; subdue; destroy; compose; soothe; calm; quiet

Translations

Noun

allay

  1. alleviation; abatement; check

References

  • allay in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

Quechua

Noun

allay

  1. harvest or digging up of potatoes or tubers

Declension

Verb

allay

  1. (transitive) to dig, dig up, dig out, excavate; to harvest tubers

Conjugation

See also

Etymology

From Middle English alayen, aleyen, aleggen, from Old English ālecgan ‎(“to put, place, lay down, lay aside, throw down, give up, cease from, abandon; put down, allay, suppress, abolish, conquer, destroy, overcome, refute; lay upon, inflict, impose upon; diminish, take away, refuse, lessen, withhold”), from Proto-Germanic *uzlagjaną ‎(“to lay down”), equivalent to a- +‎ lay. Cognate with German erlegen ‎(“to impose, cause to succumb, kill”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 ‎(uslagjan, “to lay down”). In Middle English the word was identical to forms of allege and alloy, leading to much overlapping of senses.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /əˈleɪ/
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

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