alley

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæl.i/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English aley, borrowed from Old French alee (“a path, passage; a going”),^[2][3][4] from the feminine past participle of aler (“to go”),^[3][2] whose origin is uncertain: perhaps a contraction of Latin ambulō (“to walk”) (Watkins; see amble),^[3][5][6] or from allātus (“brought to”), via a Gallo-Romance back-formation.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An open passage between buildings: 1360–61 in Barnhart, the mid-14th century in Etymonline, where it also meant a passage in a house and a garden walk.^[2][3] The OED's first quotations are from 1382 for a garden walk and 1388 for a passage in a house.^[7]

Semantic evolution

A narrow street or lane is from about 1510,^[7] and a long narrow enclosure for bowls or skittles from about 1500.^[3] In American English it is especially a back lane parallel to a main street, from 1729.^[3][7] Up someone's alley, in their area of interest, is from 1931,^[3][7] and alley cat is attested by 1890.^[3]

Timeline

• 1360–61 – aley, a passage.^[2]
• c. 1500 – a bowling alley.^[3]
• c. 1510 – a narrow street.^[7]
• 1729 – a back lane (US).^[7]
• 1931 – up someone's alley.^[3][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A narrow street or passage between or behind buildings.
2. A path in a garden or park, especially one lined with trees or bushes.
3. A long narrow lane for bowling or skittles.
4. (tennis) The strip between the singles and doubles sidelines.

Word family

• back-alley
• alleyway
• blind alley
• shaft alley
• alley cat
• bowling alley

Related words

• amble
• ambulance
• allée

Usage notes

A different alley (also ally), a large playing marble, is from 1720, said to be a shortening of alabaster.^[3][4][5] In northern and Midland dialect alley also meant the aisle of a church.^[8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)