aisle

aisle
aisle (n.) late 14c., ele, "lateral division of a church (usually separated by a row of pillars), from O.Fr. ele "wing (of a bird or an army), side of a ship" (12c., Mod.Fr. aile), from L. ala, related to axilla "wing, upper arm, armpit; wing of an army," from PIE *aks- "axis" (see AXIS (Cf. axis)), via a suffixed form *aks-la-. The root meaning in "turning" connects it with AXLE (Cf. axle) and AXIS (Cf. axis).
Confused 15c. with unrelated ile "island" (perhaps from notion of a "detached" part of a church), and so it took an -s- when isle did, c.1700; by 1750 it had acquired an a-, on the model of French cognate aile. The word also was confused with alley, which gave it the sense of "passage between rows of pews or seats" (1731), which was thence extended to railway cars, theaters, etc.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Aisle — • In architecture, one of the lateral or longitudinal divisions of a church, separated from the nave by rows of piers, pillars, or columns Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Aisle     Aisle …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • aisle — [ aıl ] noun count a passage between rows of seats, for example in a church, theater, or airplane, or between the shelves of a supermarket: an aisle seat Cereals are in aisle three. go/walk down the aisle INFORMAL to get married laughing/rolling… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • aisle — UK US /aɪl/ noun [C] ► COMMERCE the long narrow space between the rows of shelves in a large store, also used to refer to the shelves themselves: »Shopping online means you avoid the crowded supermarket aisles. »the frozen food/home baking, etc.… …   Financial and business terms

  • Aisle — Aisle, n. [OF. ele, F. aile, wing, wing of a building, L. ala, contr. fr. axilla.] (Arch.) (a) A lateral division of a building, separated from the middle part, called the nave, by a row of columns or piers, which support the roof or an upper… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • aisle — ► NOUN 1) a passage between rows of seats. 2) a passage between sets of shelves in a supermarket or other shop. 3) Architecture a lateral division of a church parallel to, and divided by pillars from, a nave, choir, or transept. ● lead someone up …   English terms dictionary

  • aisle — [aıl] n [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: ele wing , from Latin ala; influenced by English isle and French aile wing ] 1.) a long passage between rows of seats in a church, plane, theatre etc, or between rows of shelves in a shop 2.)… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • aisle — aisle; aisle·way; …   English syllables

  • Aisle 3 — was a former discount clothing retailer in the United States. The chain was famous for only being open three days a week (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), while the rest of the week was spent stocking the store with clothes.The chain went out of… …   Wikipedia

  • aisle — *passage, passageway, ambulatory, corridor …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • aisle — [n] passageway dividing something alley, artery, avenue, clearing, corridor, course, egress, gangway, hallway, ingress, lane, opening, passage, path, walk, way; concepts 440,513,830 …   New thesaurus

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