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Webster 1913 Edition


Dally

Dal′ly

(dăl′ly̆)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Dallied
(dăl′lĭd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Dallying
.]
[OE.
dalien
,
dailien
; cf. Icel.
pylja
to talk, G.
dallen
,
dalen
,
dahlen
, to trifle, talk nonsense, OSw.
tule
a droll or funny man; or AS.
dol
foolish, E.
dull
.]
1.
To waste time in effeminate or voluptuous pleasures, or in idleness; to fool away time; to delay unnecessarily; to tarry; to trifle.
We have trifled too long already; it is madness to
dally
any longer.
Calamy.
We have put off God, and
dallied
with his grace.
Barrow.
2.
To interchange caresses, especially with one of the opposite sex; to use fondling; to wanton; to sport.
Not
dallying
with a brace of courtesans.
Shakespeare
Our aerie . . .
dallies
with the wind.
Shakespeare

Dal′ly

,
Verb.
T.
To delay unnecessarily; to while away.
Dallying
off the time with often skirmishes.
Knolles.

Webster 1828 Edition


Dally

DAL'LY

, v.i.
1.
Literally, to delay; to linger; to wait. Hence.
2.
To trifle; to lose time in idleness and trifles; to amuse one's self with idle play.
It is madness to dally any longer. Calamy.
3.
To toy and wanton, as man and woman; to interchange caresses; to fondle.
4.
To sport; to play.
She dallies with the wind. Shak.

DAL'LY

,
Verb.
T.
To delay; to defer; to put off; to amuse till a proper opportunity; as, to dally off the time.

Definition 2024


dally

dally

English

Verb

dally (third-person singular simple present dallies, present participle dallying, simple past and past participle dallied)

  1. To waste time in voluptuous pleasures, or in idleness; to trifle.
    • Calamy
      We have trifled too long already; it is madness to dally any longer.
    • Barrow
      We have put off God, and dallied with his grace.
  2. To interchange caresses, especially of a sexual nature; to use fondling; to wanton; to sport (compare dalliance)
    • Shakespeare
      Not dallying with a brace of courtesans.
  3. To delay unnecessarily; to while away.
  4. To wind the lasso rope (ie throw-rope) around the saddle horn (the saddle horn is attached to the pommel of a western style saddle) after the roping of an animal
    • 2003, Jameson Parker, An Accidental Cowboy, page 89:
      The end of the top rope he dallied around the gooseneck trailer hitch.
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

Possibly from Spanish "dale la vuelta !" ("twist it around !") by law of Hobson-Jobson.

Noun

dally (plural dallies)

  1. Several wraps of rope around the saddle horn, used to stop animals in roping.
    • 1947 - Bruce Kiskaddon, Rhymes and Ranches
      What matters is now if he tied hard and fast, / Or tumbled his steer with a dally.