pall-mall

¹

[pel-mel, pal-mal, pawl-mawl]

noun

1. a game, popular in the 17th century, in which a ball of boxwood was struck with a mallet in an attempt to drive it through a raised iron ring at the end of a playing alley.

2. a playing alley on which this game was played.

Pall Mall

²

[pal mal, pel mel]

noun

1. a street in London, England, famed for its clubs.

pall-mall

¹

/ ˈpælˈmæl /

noun

1. a game in which a ball is driven by a mallet along an alley and through an iron ring

2. the alley itself

Pall Mall

²

/ ˈpæl ˈmæl /

noun

1. a street in central London, noted for its many clubs

Word History and Origins

Origin of pall-mall¹

1560–70; < Middle French pallemaille < Italian pallamaglio, equivalent to palla ball (< Langobardic ) + maglio mallet (< Latin malleus ). See ball ¹, mall, mell ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of pall-mall¹

C17: from obsolete French, from Italian pallamaglio, from palla ball + maglio mallet