different between allay vs silence

English

Alternative forms

• alay (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English alayen, aleyen, aleggen, from Old English ?le??an (“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 *uzlagjan? (“to lay down”), equivalent to a- +? lay. Cognate with German erlegen (“to impose, cause to succumb, kill”), Gothic ???????????????????????????????? (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): /??le?/
• Rhymes: -e?

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

   Synonyms: alleviate, abate

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To subside, abate, become peaceful.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark IV:

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

Translations

Noun

allay (plural allays)

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

References

• allay in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

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

English

Etymology

From Middle English silence, from Old French silence, from Latin silentium (“silence”). Displaced native Old English sw??e.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?sa?.l?ns/
• Rhymes: -a?l?ns

Noun

silence (usually uncountable, plural silences)

1. The absence of any sound.
2. The act of refraining from speaking.
   • D. Webster

     The administration itself keeps a profound silence.

3. Form of meditative worship practiced by the Society of Friends (Quakers); meeting for worship.

Synonyms

• quietness

Derived terms

Related terms

• silent

Translations

Verb

silence (third-person singular simple present silences, present participle silencing, simple past and past participle silenced)

1. (transitive) To make (someone or something) silent.

   Synonym: mute

2. (transitive) To repress the expression of something.

3. (transitive) To suppress criticism, etc.
4. (molecular biology) To block gene expression.
5. (euphemistic) To murder.

Derived terms

• silencer

Translations

See also

• quiet, noise, loud, deaf, audible.

Interjection

silence

1. (imperative) Be silent.

   Silence! Enough of your insolence!

Synonyms

• be quiet
• hush
• whist

Translations

Anagrams

• license, selenic

French

Etymology

Latin silentium (“silence”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.l??s/
• Homophone: silences

Noun

silence m (plural silences)

1. silence

Antonyms

• bruit
• cacophonie
• mélodie
• musique

Derived terms

• le silence est d'or
• minute de silence
• passer sous silence
• porte-silence
• réduire au silence
• silence, moteur, action
• silencieusement
• silencieux

Further reading

• “silence” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Ido

Etymology

silenco (“silence”) +? -e (indicates an adverb).

Adverb

silence

1. noiselessly, silently, quietly

Related terms

• silencoza

Middle English

Alternative forms

• scilence, scylence, scilense, silens, sylence, scielence, cilence

Etymology

From Old French silence, from Latin silentium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si??l?ns(?)/, /si?l?ns(?)/

Noun

silence (uncountable)

1. Silence; the state of refraining or refusing to speak.
2. Peace, calm; a state of tranquil and restful behaviour.
3. Quietness; a lack of sound or speaking (for a given area or time).
4. Refraining from excessive speaking or talking.
5. The following of a religious vow of silence.
6. (rare) The termination of a dispute or conflict.
7. (rare) Secrecy or freedom from disruption.

Descendants

• English: silence
• Scots: seelence

References

• “s??lence, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-03.

Middle French

Noun

silence f (plural silences)

1. silence (absence of noise)