Adjacent Words

Sally definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SAL'LY, n. [See the Verb.] In a general sense, a spring; a darting or shooting. Hence,
1. An issue or rushing of troops from a besieged place to attack the besiegers.
2. A spring or darting of intellect, fancy or imagination; flight; sprightly exertion. We say, sallies of wit, sallies of imagination.
3. Excursion from the usual track; range.
He who often makes sallies into a country, and traverses it up and down, will know it better than one that goes always round in the same track.
4. Act of levity or extravagance; wild gaiety; frolic; a bounding or darting beyond ordinary rules; as a sally of youth; a sally of levity.
SAL'LY, v.i. [L. salio. Gr. to impel, to shoot. See Solar, from L. sol. Gr.]
1. To issue or rush out, as a body of troops from a fortified place to attack besiegers.
They break the truce, and sally out by night.
2. To issue suddenly; to make a sudden eruption.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: witty remark [syn: wisecrack, crack, sally, quip]
2: a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position [syn: sortie, sally]
3: a venture off the beaten path; "a sally into the wide world beyond his home" [syn: sally, sallying forth]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural sallies) Etymology: Middle French saillie, from Old French, from saillir to rush forward, from Latin salire to leap; akin to Greek hallesthai to leap Date: 1560 1. an action of rushing or bursting forth; especially a sortie of troops from a defensive position to attack the enemy 2. a. a brief outbreak ; outburst b. a witty or imaginative saying ; quip 3. a venture or excursion usually off the beaten track ; jaunt II. intransitive verb (sallied; sallying) Date: 1560 1. to leap out or burst forth suddenly 2. set out, depart — often used with forth

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) colloq. 1 (usu. prec. by the) the Salvation Army. 2 a member of this. Etymology: abbr.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. (pl. -ies) --n. 1 a sudden charge from a fortification upon its besiegers; a sortie. 2 a going forth; an excursion. 3 a witticism; a piece of banter; a lively remark esp. by way of attack upon a person or thing or of a diversion in argument. 4 a sudden start into activity; an outburst. 5 archaic an escapade. --v.intr. (-ies, -ied) 1 (usu. foll. by out, forth) go for a walk, set out on a journey etc. 2 (usu. foll. by out) make a military sally. 3 archaic issue or come out suddenly. Phrases and idioms: sally-port an opening in a fortification for making a sally from. Etymology: F saillie fem. past part. of saillir issue f. OF salir f. L salire leap 2. n. (pl. -ies) 1 the part of a bell-rope prepared with inwoven wool for holding. 2 a the first movement of a bell when set for ringing. b the bell's position when set. Phrases and idioms: sally-hole the hole through which the bell-rope passes. Etymology: perh. f. SALLY(1) in sense 'leaping motion' 3. var. of SALLEE.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sally Sal"ly, n.; pl. Sallies. [F. saillie, fr. saillir. See Sally, v.] 1. A leaping forth; a darting; a spring. 2. A rushing or bursting forth; a quick issue; a sudden eruption; specifically, an issuing of troops from a place besieged to attack the besiegers; a sortie. Sallies were made by the Spaniards, but they were beaten in with loss. --Bacon. 3. An excursion from the usual track; range; digression; deviation. Every one shall know a country better that makes often sallies into it, and traverses it up and down, than he that . . . goes still round in the same track. --Locke. 4. A flight of fancy, liveliness, wit, or the like; a flashing forth of a quick and active mind. The unaffected mirth with which she enjoyed his sallies. --Sir W. Scott. 5. Transgression of the limits of soberness or steadiness; act of levity; wild gayety; frolic; escapade. The excursion was esteemed but a sally of youth. --Sir H. Wotton. Sally port. (a) (Fort.) A postern gate, or a passage underground, from the inner to the outer works, to afford free egress for troops in a sortie. (b) (Naval) A large port on each quarter of a fireship, for the escape of the men into boats when the train is fired; a large port in an old-fashioned three-decker or a large modern ironclad.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sally Sal"ly (s[a^]l"l[y^]), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sallied (-l[i^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Sallying.] [F. saillir, fr. L. salire to leap, spring, akin to Gr. "a`llesqai; cf. Skr. s[.r] to go, to flow. Cf. Salient, Assail, Assault, Exult, Insult, Saltation, Saltire.] To leap or rush out; to burst forth; to issue suddenly; as a body of troops from a fortified place to attack besiegers; to make a sally. They break the truce, and sally out by night. --Dryden. The foe retires, -- she heads the sallying host. --Byron.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sallies, sallying, sallied) 1. Sallies are clever and amusing remarks. (LITERARY) He had thus far succeeded in fending off my conversational sallies. N-COUNT 2. If someone sallies forth or sallies somewhere, they go out into a rather difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant situation in a brave or confident way. (LITERARY) ...worrying about her when she sallies forth on her first date... Tamara would sally out on bitterly cold nights. VERB: V forth, V prep/adv • Sally is also a noun. ...their first sallies outside the student world. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Sortie. 2. Digression, excursion, trip, run. 3. Frolic, escapade, wild gayety. 4. Jest, joke, quip, quirk, crank, witticism, sprightly fancy, flash of wit, jeu d'esprit. II. v. n. Rush out, issue suddenly.

Moby Thesaurus

access, aggravated assault, aggression, amphibious attack, aphorism, apothegm, arise, armed assault, assailing, assailment, assault, attack, bail out, banzai attack, be off, blitz, blitzkrieg, bon mot, boutade, break cover, break forth, breakthrough, bright idea, bright thought, brilliant idea, burst, burst forth, campaign, charge, circuit, come, come forth, come out, conceit, counterattack, counteroffensive, coup de main, course, crack, crippling attack, dead set at, debouch, descent on, disembogue, diversion, diversionary attack, drive, drollery, effuse, emanate, emerge, epigram, erupt, eruption, excursion, expedition, explosion, extrude, facetiae, flank attack, flare-up, flash of wit, flight of wit, frontal attack, gag, gas attack, get off, gibe, go forth, grand tour, gust, happy thought, head-on attack, infiltration, issue, issue forth, jape, jaunt, jest, journey, jump out, junket, lightning attack, lightning war, mass attack, megadeath, mot, mugging, nasty crack, offense, offensive, onset, onslaught, outing, outset, outstart, overkill, package tour, panzer warfare, peregrination, persiflage, pilgrimage, play of wit, pleasantry, pleasure trip, progress, protrude, push, put forth, quip, quips and cranks, repartee, retort, riposte, round trip, roundabout, rubberneck tour, run, run against, run at, rush, safari, sally forth, scintillation, set forth, set forward, set off, set out, shock tactics, shoot, smart crack, smart saying, snappy comeback, sortie, stalk, start, start off, start out, strike, strike out, stroke of wit, surface, tour, trek, trip, turn, turn of thought, unprovoked assault, voyage, waggery, wisecrack, witticism