allay

Meaning

1. To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
2. To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate.
3. (obsolete) To subside, abate, become peaceful.
4. To mix (metals); to mix with a baser metal; to alloy; to deteriorate.
5. To make worse by the introduction of inferior elements.

relieve

be better

bring to an end

stamp down

becalm

conciliate

not so bad

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈleɪ/

From Middle English alayen, aleyen, aleggen, from Old English āleċġan (“to put, place, lay down, lay aside, throw down, give up, cease from, abandon; put down, allay, suppress, abolish, conquer, destroy, overcome, refute; lay upon, inflict, impose upon; diminish, take away, refuse, lessen, withhold”), from Proto-Germanic *uzlagjaną (“to lay down”), equivalent to a- + lay. Cognate with German erlegen (“to impose, cause to succumb, kill”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (uslagjan, “to lay down”). In Middle English the word was identical to forms of allege and alloy, leading to much overlapping of senses.