Pale
/peɪl/noun
Light in color; lacking intensity or vividness.
Did you know?English pale comes through Old French from Latin pallidus, and it shares a deep ancestry with words for pallor and the pale, faded look associated with fear, illness, and death in ancient thought.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pel-
“to beat, strike, or flap; likely the source of the idea of pale/faded through later color terms”
Latin
Latin
pallidus
“pale, wan, bloodless”
Old French
Old French
pale
“pale, wan”
Middle English
English
pale
“pale in color or appearance”
Modern English
English
pale
“light in color; lacking intensity or vividness”