Etymologically
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rally

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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
  • 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