▪ I. † aˈvale, v. Obs.
Forms: 4–8 au- avale, 4–6 auaile, 5–6 au- avayle, 6 advale, auayl, aueyle, 7 avail. North. 4–5 awale, 6 awail. See also aphet. vale v.
[a. OF. avaler, f. phr. à val:—L. ad vallem to the valley; = Pr. avalar, It. avallare; cf. amount v., F. amonter, f. à mont, L. ad montem. For the spelling advale, see ad- prefix 2.]
1. intr. Of persons: To descend; to come, go, or get down; to dismount, alight. (Often with redundant down; cf. ascend up.)
| c 1400 Mandeville xxvi. 266 Summe of the Jewes han..avaled down to the Valeyes. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. viii. 140 Owre a bra down awaland. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 160/3 A corde by which he aualed doun and was saued. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. 6 When Phebus in the west Gan to avayle. 1596 Spenser F.Q. ii. ix. 10 They..from their sweaty coursers did avale. Ibid. iv. iii. 46 Out of her coch she gan availe. |
2. trans. To descend, come down (a hill, etc.).
| 1494 Fabyan vii. 489 The sayd hoost of Flemynges aualyd y⊇ mount in a secret wyse. |
3. intr. Of things: To sink, flow, or drop down.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. vi. 143 Þe heuy erþes aualen by her weyȝtes. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 144/2 The precious blood aualed by the shafte of the spere upon hys hondes. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. 92 The droppes..Whiche from her eyen began to advale. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 21 But when his later spring gins to avale, Huge heapes of mudd he [Nilus] leaves. |
b. To sail down stream, or away on an ebb tide.
| a 1547 Earl of Surrey æneid iv. 387 To flight Was armde the fleet all redy to avale. 1551 Bodenham Voy. Scio in Arber Eng. Garner I. 33, I vailed down that night ten miles, to take the tide in the morning. |
4. transf. and fig. To lower oneself, submit, yield.
| 1484 Caxton Chyualry 78 Auaryce..maketh noble courage to descende and auale. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xxix. 84 Whiche castell after aueyled to me. |
5. trans. To cause to descend, fall, or sink; to let down, lower; to send or direct downwards.
| c 1314 Guy Warw. 80 His hauberk was al to tore And his nasel avaled bifore. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1803 The thridde arowe..Into myn herte he dide avale. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 113 [Rahab] aualed hem by a corde from..the toune walles. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccclxxiv. 619 Drawe vp your ankers and aueyle your sayles. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Jan. 73, Phœbus gan auaile His weary waine. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 118/2 He ordered that the rods should be avaled in respect to the citizens. |
6. To lower (the visor of a helmet), to uncover; hence, to take off, doff (hat, cap, etc.).
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 97 Ilk auailed his helme, & to conseile drowe. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's Prol. 14 He wold avale nowther hood ne hat. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xxxii, He auaylet vppe his viserne. 1544 Bale Sir J. Oldcastell in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 272 All the clergye..avayling their bonnettes. 1557 K. Arthur (Copland) v. xii, Y⊇ kyng aualed his vyser with a meke and noble countenance. |
7. fig. To degrade, abase, humble; to lower.
| c 1430 Lydg. Bochas ii. i. (1554) 41 a, Fortune..Auailed hym from his royall see. 1551–6 Robinson tr. More's Utop. 146 One that hath aualed the heighe nature of hys soule to the vielnes of brute beastes bodies. a 1639 Wotton in Reliq. (1651) It pleased him to..avale his goodness, even to the giving of his friend secret directions. |
▪ II. † aˈvale, n. Obs. rare.
In 6 auail.
[f. prec.]
a. Abasement, humiliation. b. ? Descent, disembarkation.
| c 1505 Dunbar, The lang availl on humil wyse. a 1547 Earl of Surrey in Tottell Misc. (Arb.) 16 Furdering his hope, that is his sail Toward me, the swete port of his auail. |
▪ III. avale
obs. form of avail.