Etymologically
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alley

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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)