sally
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L25394 on Wikidata ↗verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L25395 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈsæl.i/ / /ˈsæli/
name
Etymology: A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah. Compare Hal from Harry and Moll from Mary.
- A diminutive of the female given name Sarah, also used as a formal given name.
“She submitted―for what alternative did she have?―to being Sally in this family, but she always signed herself, Sarah.”
“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.”
- A nickname for the Salvation Army.
noun
Etymology: A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah. Compare Hal from Harry and Moll from Mary.
- Alternative letter-case form of sally: the crystalline or powdered form of MDA.
verb
Etymology: Borrowed from French saillie, from sailli, the past participle of the verb saillir (“to leap forth”), itself from Latin salīre (“to leap”).
- To make a sudden attack (e.g. on an enemy from a defended position).
“The troops sallied in desperation.”
“A feeding strategy of some birds is to sally out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch.”
- To set out on an excursion; venture; depart (often followed by "forth").
“So I tucked my violin under my arm, and sallied out after the old budgy ragman, determined to ease him of his load at the very first lonesome corner I could track him to.”
“Adverse comment begins with uncomplimentary observations on the somewhat harder seats, then reaches a crescendo when it is discovered that the perverse and unhurried train is actually going to wait for another connection which is running late, instead of sallying forth at once for the benefit of those already on board and leaving latecomers stranded.”
- To venture off the beaten path.