pale
pale1 former term for an area within determined bounds, or subject to a particular jurisdiction, as in the Pale, used to designate the English Pale in medieval Ireland, the territory of Calais in northern France when under English jurisdiction, and those areas of Tsarist Russia to which Jewish residence was restricted (known more fully as the Pale of Settlement).
Pale in Middle English, meaning a wooden stake used as an upright along with others to form a fence, comes via Old French from Latin palus ‘stake’.
beyond the pale outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour (recorded from the mid 19th century).
Pale in Middle English, meaning a wooden stake used as an upright along with others to form a fence, comes via Old French from Latin palus ‘stake’.
beyond the pale outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour (recorded from the mid 19th century).
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