Pale — Defs

01 a. Wanting in color; not ruddy; dusky white; pallid; wan; as, a pale face; a pale red; a pale blue.

1.
Wanting in color; not ruddy; dusky white; pallid; wan; as, a pale face; a pale red; a pale blue.
“Speechless he stood and pale.” — Milton.

“They are not of complexion red or pale.” — T. Randolph.
2.
Not bright or brilliant; of a faint luster or hue; dim; as, the pale light of the moon.
“The night, methinks, is but the daylight sick; It looks a little paler.” — Shak.

02 n. Paleness; pallor.

1.
Paleness; pallor.[R.]

03 v. i. To turn pale; to lose color or luster.

imp. & p. p. Paled; p. pr. & vb. n. Paling

1.
To turn pale; to lose color or luster.
“Apt to pale at a trodden worm.” — Mrs. Browning.

04 v. t. To make pale; to diminish the brightness of.

1.
To make pale; to diminish the brightness of.
“The glowworm shows the matin to be near, And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire.” — Shak.

05 n. A pointed stake or slat, either driven into the ground, or fastened to a rail at the top and bottom, for fencing or inclosing; a picket.

1.
A pointed stake or slat, either driven into the ground, or fastened to a rail at the top and bottom, for fencing or inclosing; a picket.
“Deer creep through when a pale tumbles down.” — Mortimer.
2.
That which incloses or fences in; a boundary; a limit; a fence; a palisade.
3.
A space or field having bounds or limits; a limited region or place; an inclosure; -- often used figuratively.
4.
A stripe or band, as on a garment.
5.
One of the greater ordinaries, being a broad perpendicular stripe in an escutcheon, equally distant from the two edges, and occupying one third of it.(Her.)
6.
A cheese scoop.
7.
A shore for bracing a timber before it is fastened.(Shipbuilding)

Phrases & compounds

English pale — the limits or territory within which alone the English conquerors of Ireland held dominion for a long period after their invasion of the country in 1172.

beyond the pale — outside the limits of what is allowed or proper; also, outside the limits within which one is protected.

06 v. t. To inclose with pales, or as with pales; to encircle; to encompass; to fence off.

1.
To inclose with pales, or as with pales; to encircle; to encompass; to fence off.
“[Your isle, which stands] ribbed and paled in With rocks unscalable and roaring waters.” — Shak.