allay

English

Alternative forms

• alay (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English alayen, aleyen, aleggen, from Old English āleċġan (“to put, place, lay down, lay aside, throw down, give up, cease from, abandon; put down, allay, suppress, abolish, conquer, destroy, overcome, refute; lay upon, inflict, impose upon; diminish, take away, refuse, lessen, withhold”), from Proto-Germanic *uzlagjaną (“to lay down”), equivalent to a- +‎ lay. Cognate with German erlegen (“to impose, cause to succumb, kill”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (uslagjan, “to lay down”). In Middle English the word was identical to forms of allege and alloy, leading to much overlapping of senses.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈleɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Verb

allay (third-person singular simple present allays, present participle allaying, simple past and past participle allayed)

1. (transitive) To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.

   Synonyms: appease, assuage, compose, soothe, calm, quiet

   to allay popular excitement

   to allay the tumult of the passions

   • 1888, William Morris, Signs of Change ‎, London: Reeves and Turner, page 104:

     They were forced to try to allay discontent by palliative measures.

   • 1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet. A Detective Story, 3rd edition, London, New York, N.Y.: Ward, Lock, Bowden, and Co., , published 1892, →OCLC:

     He had to pretend to be drunk in order to allay the suspicions which might have been aroused by his appearance at the gate.

   • 1983, James C. H. Shen, “Dropping the First Shoe”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally‎, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, page 84:

     Kissinger was obviously doing his best to allay our government's growing apprehension in connection with Nixon's forthcoming trip to Peking.

   • 2020 February 12, Mark Sweney, “Mobile World Congress axed after firms quit over coronavirus fears”, in The Guardian‎:

     The trade show’s organisers had attempted to allay concerns by announcing more stringent health and safety measures including a ban on handshakes, and taking attendees’ temperatures.

2. (transitive) To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate.

   Synonyms: alleviate, abate

   to allay the severity of affliction or the bitterness of adversity

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To subside, abate, become peaceful.
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt  (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Mark iiij:

     And the wynde alayed, and there folowed a greate calme: and he sayde unto them: why are ye fearfull?

   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     For raging wind blows up incessant showers,
     And when the rage allays the rain begins.

4. (archaic) To mix (metals); to mix with a baser metal; to alloy; to deteriorate.
5. (archaic, by extension) To make worse by the introduction of inferior elements.
   • 1639, Thomas Fuller, The Historie of the Holy Warr:

     Yet far be it from us to condemn all their works to be dross, because debased and allayed with superstitious intents […]

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

allay (plural allays)

1. Alleviation; abatement; check.
2. (obsolete) An alloy.

References

• “allay”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Layla

Quechua

Noun

allay

1. harvest or digging up of potatoes or tubers

Declension

Verb

allay

1. (transitive) to dig, dig up, dig out, excavate; to harvest tubers

Conjugation

See also

• aymuray
• pallay