rally

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈræl.i/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French rallier,^[2][3][4][5] from ralier (“to reassemble, unite again”), from re- “again” and alier “to unite” (see ally).^[2][3][5] In Old French re- often appeared as ra- with the next consonant doubled, by confusion with the ra- from Latin re- and ad-, as in rabbet, a doublet of rebate.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bring persons together for a common purpose: 1603, in Florio's translation of Montaigne;^[3][6] to reassemble a scattered army is from 1604 in the OED.^[6] MWU dates the transitive verb to 1599.^[5]

Semantic evolution

To pull together, revive or rouse is first in Milton's Paradise Lost (1667),^[3] intransitive by the 1660s.^[2] The noun was military at first: in 1651, a rapid regrouping for renewed effort after a repulse.^[6][3][2] Recovery of strength is from 1826, in Scott,^[3][6] and a rise in share prices after a fall from 1930.^[6] A political mass meeting is American English from 1840.^[2][3][6] In boxing a bout or a flurry of blows is from 1825, and in tennis the series of strokes between the service and the end of a point from 1881 in Etymonline, 1887 in the OED.^[2][6] A competitive event for motor vehicles is from 1932, from French rallye,^[2][6] which itself had been borrowed from the English noun.^[2][3] Rally round the flag (1862) is a line from the Civil War song “Battle Cry of Freedom”.^[2]

Timeline

• 1603 – to gather supporters, in Florio.^[3]
• 1651 – a regrouping of troops.^[6][3]
• 1667 – to revive, rouse, in Milton.^[3]
• 1825 – a flurry of blows in boxing.^[2][6]
• 1826 – a recovery of strength.^[6][3]
• 1840 – a political mass meeting.^[6][2]
• 1881 – a rally in tennis.^[2]
• 1930 – a rise in share prices.^[6]
• 1932 – a motor rally.^[6][2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To bring or come together for a common purpose.
2. To reassemble and restore to order, as troops after a dispersal.
3. To recover suddenly, in health, spirits or performance.
4. Of prices on a stock exchange, to rise sharply after a fall.

Noun

1. A large public meeting held to arouse support for a cause.
2. A sudden recovery or improvement.
3. In tennis and similar games, an exchange of strokes before a point is won.
4. A competition in which cars are driven over public roads or rough country.

Word family

• rallyist
• counterrally
• unrallied
• pep rally

Related words

• ally
• rely
• rallye
• raillery

Usage notes

Rally, to tease good-humouredly or banter, is a different word, from 1668, borrowed from French railler “to mock” (see rail and raillery).^[3][4][5]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press