Pall refers to a funerary cloth, a coffin, or anything that casts a shadow or gloom, with specific ecclesiastical uses as well.
Pall can refer to a cloth spread over a coffin or tomb, a coffin itself, or anything that covers or shrouds, especially with darkness or gloom. It can also have ecclesiastical meanings related to altar cloths or vestments.
| Back | pall /PAWL/ |
|---|---|
| Front | noun 1. A cloth, often of velvet, for spreading over a coffin, bier, or tomb. 2. A coffin. 3. Anything that covers, shrouds, or overspreads, especially with darkness or gloom. 4. Ecclesiastical. Pallium (i.e. an altar cloth or a linen cloth or a square cloth-covered piece of cardboard used to cover a chalice). [before 900; Middle English; Old English pæll pope's pallium < Latin pallium cloak] "A spate of House retirements in the South is casting a pall over Dems' 2010 chances." - Buck Up, Democrats, Benjamin Sarlin, January 26, 2010 |
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