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Alley
//ˈæl.i// name, noun, slang
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A female given name.
Noun
- 1 A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings.
"The parking lot to my friend's apartment building is in the alley."
- 2 A marble (small ball used in games).
- 3 a narrow street with walls on both sides wordnet
- 4 The area between the outfielders.
"He hit one deep into the alley."
- 5 a lane down which a bowling ball is rolled toward pins wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 An establishment where bowling is played.
- 7 An elongated wooden strip of floor along which a bowling ball is rolled.
- 8 The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.
- 9 A walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes.
"I know each lane and every alley green."
- 10 A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
- 11 Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
- 12 The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
- 13 A group of clowns; the collective noun for clowns. informal, rare
"[…] alley of clowns had sprung like a fungus growth from the dung heap of the First World War."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English aleye, from Anglo-Norman aleie, feminine of alé, past participle of aler (“to go”) (French aller). Doublet of allée.
Etymology 2
Diminutive of alabaster, from which they were once made.
See also for "alley"
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