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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

sally.

A willow.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈsæli/
  1. A willow.

  2. Any tree that resembles a willow.

  3. An object made from the wood of a willow.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English saly, from Old English saliġ, sealh (“willow”). More at sallow.

noun/ˈsæli/
  1. A sortie of troops from a besieged place against an enemy.

  2. A sudden rushing forth.

    Flocks of these birds stir up flying insects, which can then be picked off in quick sallies.
  3. A witty statement or quip, usually at the expense of one's interlocutor.

    figuratively
  4. An excursion or side trip.

  5. A tufted woollen part of a bellrope, used to provide grip when ringing a bell.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from French saillie, from sailli, the past participle of the verb saillir (“to leap forth”), itself from Latin salīre (“to leap”).

verb/ˈsæli/
  1. To make a sudden attack (e.g. on an enemy from a defended position).

    intransitive
    The troops sallied in desperation.
    A feeding strategy of some birds is to sally out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch.
  2. To set out on an excursion; venture; depart (often followed by "forth").

    intransitive
  3. To venture off the beaten path.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from French saillie, from sailli, the past participle of the verb saillir (“to leap forth”), itself from Latin salīre (“to leap”).

noun/ˈsæli/
  1. A member of the Salvation Army.

    New-Zealand · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *solh₂-der. Proto-Italic *salawos Latin salvus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin salvō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin salvātiō Old French salvacionbor. Middle English savacioun English salvation Proto-Germanic *-j-, *-ij- Proto-West Germanic *-i, *-ī Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English sally From salvation + -y.

noun/ˈsæli/
  1. A kind of stonefly.

  2. A wren.

Where this word comes from

Unknown.

noun/ˈsæli/
  1. The crystalline or powdered form of MDA.

    Canada · US · slang
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.