English

Noun

Pally ‎(plural Pallies)

1. (colloquial) A Palestinian.

English

Adjective

pally ‎(comparative pallier or more pally, superlative palliest or most pally)

1. Like a pal; friendly.
   • 1929, Basil Woon, From Deauville to Monte Carlo, page 157,

     The O′Briens are the palliest of pals with the Prince of Wales and when HRH is in Biarritz he and Jay are inseparable.

   • 1942, Seán O'Faoláin, Peadar O'Donnell, The Bell, Volume 5, page 157,

     Words are the friendliest and palliest things I know.

   • 1987, Alan Sillitoe, Every Day of the Week: An Alan Sillitoe Reader, page 30,

     […] he was a champion boozer and the palliest bloke in the pub.

   • 2006, Vidar Helgesen, Erik Solheim, The Straight Talkers, Harriet Martin (editor), Kofi Atta Annan (foreword), Kings of Peace, Pawns of War: The Untold Story of Peace-Making, page 112,

     And with each round the two negotiating teams got more and more pally. ‘By the sixth round we were having Jacuzzis together!’

   • 2010, Donald Munro, Diaries of a Stretcher-Bearer 1916-1918, page 100,

     When there were Australian officers everyone was more pally and sociable which made it easier for the lady in charge to entertain the party.

   • 2011, David Rowley, Erections in the Far East, page 19,

     The chap I′m most pally with is Fright who is nearly sixty now but still climbs like a youngster.

Noun

pally ‎(plural pallies)

1. (US) An affectionate term of address.
   • 1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin 2010, p. 164:

     ‘Sit here, pally.’ He pushed me down.

   • 1951, Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life, page M-77,

     Well, a lot of water has flown under the bridges since then, pally, and while I have been laying off lately, I′m still the same old Joey, which is more than I can say for that O′Hara creep.

   • 1968, Alex La Guma, Tattoo Marks and Nails, A Walk in the Night: And Other Stories, page 95,

     Ahmed the Turk grinned. “You call this hot, chommy? Pally, we used to take slices off the heat, put them on our biscuits and make toast.”

   • 1993, Roger Kahn, The Era: 1947-1957, When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the World, page 342,

     As the Giants moved West, most accpted Horace Stoneham′s apologia: “I can′t stay where I am, pally. If I don′t move the team I go bankrupt. Except for Chub [Feeney], all my relatives would starve.”

2. (US, Australia) A slightly derogatory and insulting term of address.

   What do you think you are doing, pally?

Etymology 2

Noun

pally ‎(plural pallies)

1. (fantasy role-playing games) A paladin.