Etymology Dictionary

PALE (1),  a stake, narrow piece of wood for enclosing ground, an enclosure, limit, district.  (F.,—L.)   M.E. paal, Wyclif, Ezek. xv. 3 (earlier version); the later version has stake; Vulgate, paxillus.   Dat. pale, Wyclif, Luke, xix. 43.—F. pal, 'a pale, stake, or pole;' Cot.—Lat. pālus, a stake.   The long a is due to loss of g; the base is pag-, as seen in pangere, to fasten; see Pact.   ¶ The A.S. pal or pál is uncertain; we find 'Palus, pal,' in Wright's Voc. i. 84; it answers rather to pole, q.v.   The G. pfahl is merely borrowed from Latin.   Der. pal-ing, Blackstone's Comment. b. ii. c. 3 (R.); pale, verb, 3 Hen. VI, i. 4. 103; im-pale; also pal-is-ade, q.v.   Doublet, pole.   ➩ The heraldic term pale is the same word.

PALE (2),  wan, dim.  (F.,—L.)   M.E. palë, Chaucer, C. T. 5065.—O.F. pale, palle (Burguy), later pasle (Cot.), whence mod. F. pâle.—Lat. pallidum, acc. of pallidus, pale.   On the loss of the last two atonic syllables, see Brachet, Introd. § 50, 51.   Allied to Gk. πολιός, gray, Skt. palita, gray, and to E. fallow; see Fallow.   Der. pale-ly, pale-ness, pal-ish.   Doublet, pallid.