What is "pall"

Pawl \Pawl\, n. [W. pawl a pole, a stake. Cf. Pole a stake.] (Mach.) A pivoted tongue, or sliding bolt, on one part of a machine, adapted to fall into notches, or interdental spaces, on another part, as a ratchet wheel, in such a manner as to permit motion in one direction and prevent it in the reverse, as in a windlass; a catch, click, or detent. See Illust. of Ratchet Wheel. [Written also paul, or pall.]

Pawl bitt (Naut.), a heavy timber, set abaft the windlass, to receive the strain of the pawls.

Pawl rim or Pawl ring (Naut.), a stationary metallic ring surrounding the base of a capstan, having notches for the pawls to catch in.

Old English pæll "rich cloth or cloak, purple robe, altar cloth," from Latin pallium "cloak, coverlet, covering," in Tertullian, the garment worn by Christians instead of the Roman toga; related to pallo "robe, cloak," palla "long upper garment of Roman women," perhaps from the root of pellis "skin." Notion of "cloth spread over a coffin" (mid-15c.) led to figurative sense of "dark, gloomy mood" (1742).

"become tiresome," 1700, from Middle English pallen "to become faint, fail in strength" (late 14c.), shortened form of appallen "to dismay, fill with horror or disgust" (see appall). Related: Palled; palling.

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context archaic English) Fine cloth, especially purple cloth used for robes. 2 (context Christianity English) A cloth used for various purposes on the altar in a church. 3 (context Christianity English) A piece of cardboard, covered with linen and embroidered on one side, used to cover the chalice. 4 (context Christianity English) A pallium (woollen vestment in Roman Catholicism). 5 (context heraldiccharge English) A figure resembling the Roman Catholic pallium, or pall, and having the form of the letter Y. 6 A heavy canvas, especially one laid over a coffin or tomb. 7 An outer garment; a cloak or mantle. 8 (context obsolete English) nausea 9 (senseid en feeling of gloom) A feeling of gloom. vb. To cloak. Etymology 2

vb. 1 (context transitive English) To make vapid or insipid; to make lifeless or spiritless; to dull; to weaken. 2 (context intransitive English) To become vapid, tasteless, dull, or insipid; to lose strength, life, spirit, or taste.

1. n. a sudden numbing dread [syn: chill]

2. burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped [syn: shroud, cerement, winding-sheet, winding-clothes]

3. hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window) [syn: curtain, drape, drapery, mantle]

1. v. become less interesting or attractive [syn: dull]

2. cause to lose courage; "dashed by the refusal" [syn: daunt, dash, scare off, frighten off, scare away, frighten away, scare]

3. cover with a pall

4. cause surfeit through excess though initially pleasing; "Too much spicy food cloyed his appetite" [syn: cloy]

5. cause to become flat; "pall the beer"

6. lose sparkle or bouquet; "wine and beer can pall" [syn: die, become flat]

7. lose strength or effectiveness; become or appear boring, insipid, or tiresome (to); "the course palled on her"

8. get tired of something or somebody [syn: tire, weary, fatigue, jade]

Pall may refer to:

• Pall (funeral), a cloth used to cover a coffin
• Pall (heraldry), a Y-shaped heraldic charge
• Pall (liturgy), a piece of stiffened linen used to cover the chalice at the Eucharist
• Pall Corporation, a global business
• Pallium, a vestment pertaining to an archbishop.

People with the surname Pall:

• Barrett Pall (born 1988), American male fashion model and actor
• David Pall (1914–2004), founder of Pall Corporation
• Donn Pall (born 1962), former professional baseball player
• Gloria Pall (born 1929), American model, showgirl, film and television actress, author and businesswoman
• Olga Pall (born 1947), former alpine skier

A pall (or pairle) is a Y-shaped heraldic charge, normally having its arms in the three corners of the shield. An example of a pall placed horizontally ( fesswise) is the green portion of the Flag of South Africa.

A pall that stops short of the shield's edges and that has pointed ends to its three limbs is called a shakefork, although some heraldic sources do not make a distinction between a pall and a shakefork. A pall standing upside down is named pall reversed.

A pall on a shield may indicate a connection with the clergy, particularly archbishoprics, although in these cases the pall's lower limb usually stops short of the bottom of the shield and is fringed. Such a pall is often called an ecclesiastical pall or pallium. This is in reference to the ecclesiastical vestment from which this heraldic charge derives.

If there is symmetry within the arms, its blazon can be simplified in the English language by use of the heraldic term 'between' -- 'in the midst of, so as to make a symmetrical composition'. The coat of Saint-Wandrille-Rançon is an example where the French blasonnement is similar to the traditional English blazon, yet can be described with a simplified English blazon.

A pall (also called mortcloth) is a cloth that covers a casket or coffin at funerals. The word comes from the Latin pallium (cloak), through Old English. It is also a stiffened square card covered with white linen, usually embroidered with a cross or some other appropriate symbol. The purpose of the pall is to keep dust and insects from falling into the Eucharistic elements in a chalice. The derivation is the same: the cloth is named after the presumed cloth that covered Jesus.

The use of a rich cloth pall to cover the casket or coffin during the funeral grew during the Middle Ages; initially these were brightly coloured and patterned, only later black, and later still white. They were usually then given to the Church to use for vestments or other decorations.

The rules for the pall's colour and use vary depending on religious and cultural traditions. Commonly today palls are pure white, to symbolize the white clothes worn during baptism and the joyful triumph over death brought about by the Resurrection. The colour is not fixed, though, and may vary with the liturgical season. Traditionally, it is common for the pall, as well as the vestments of the clergy to be black. The pall will often be decorated with a cross, often running the whole length of the cloth from end to end in all four directions, signifying the sovereignty of Christ's triumph over sin and death on the cross.

The pall is placed on the casket or coffin as soon as it arrives at the church and will remain on the coffin during all of proceedings in the church. If the family members wish to view the deceased, this would normally be done previously at the funeral home before the casket or coffin is brought to the church; but customs will vary from denomination to denomination. The pall will be removed at the graveside, just before the casket or coffin is lowered into the ground. If the remains are to be cremated, the pall-covered casket or coffin will go through a curtain, and the pall will be removed.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church the pall often bears a depiction of the cross and instruments of the Passion as well as the text of the Trisagion hymn. Since Orthodox funerals are normally open casket, the pall comes up only to the chest of the deceased. When an Orthodox bishop dies, his mandyas (mantle) is used as a pall. Military funerals often use the nation's flag as a pall. In the United Kingdom, members of the Royal Family or the peerage may use a flag bearing their arms as a pall. The City of London Livery Companies have collections of often magnificently embroidered "hearse-cloths", which were from the 16th century traditionally donated by prominent members for use in covering distinguished members' coffins. An exhibition of such palls was made in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1927.