20kWEB: Origin of the word Dally. Etymology of the word Dally. Etymology Dictionary.

DALLY, to trifle, to fool away time. (E. ?) M. E. dalien. 'Dysours dalye,' i.e. dicers play; K. Alisaunder, ed. Weber, 6991. 'To daly with derely your daynte wordez' = to play dearly with your dainty words; Gawayn and the Grene Knight, 1253. Also spelt daylien, id. 1114. I suppose this M. E. dalien stands for, or is a dialectal variety of the older M. E. dwelien, to err, to be foolish. 'Swiðe ge dwelieð' = ye greatly err, in the latest MS. of A. S. Gospels, Mark, xii. 27.—A. S. dweligean, to err, be foolish, Mark, xii. 27; Northumbrian duoliga, dwoliga, id. + Icel. dvala, to delay. + Du. dwalen, to err, wander, be mistaken. Closely connected with Dwell, q.v., and with Dull and Dwale. ¶ The loss of the w presents no great difficulty; it was already lost in the A. S. dol, foolish, of which the apparent base thereby became dal-, and gave rise to the form dalien, regularly. Later, the word dalien was imagined to be French, and took the F. suffix -ance; when M. E. daliaunce, Gawayn and the Grene Knight, 1012. But all this is conjectural only. Der. dalli-ance, explained above. [†]

ADDENDA

The etymology here given is strongly supported by the occurrence of the prov. E. dwallee or tell doil, to talk incoherently. A man in his cups who talks in a rambling style, is said, in Devonshire, to dwallee. 'Dest dwallee, or tell doil?' i.e. are you talking incoherently, or speaking nonsense? Exmoor Scolding, Bout the First, last line.

Etymology Dictionary

Origin of the word DALLY. Etymology of the word DALLY.