aisle
/ʌɪl
/noun
1A passage between rows of seats in a building such as a church or theatre, an aircraft, or train: the musical had the audience dancing in the aisles...
- Turtle chose his seat on the train across the aisle from Tim in the row behind Megan and Jeff.
- The bus was headed from the Western Wall to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood on the city's outskirts, and families with children were packed in the seats and aisles.
- Thirty unarmed INS agents accompanied the flight, guarding the handcuffed deportees in shifts, standing in aircraft's aisles at every fifth row.
Synonyms
passage, passageway, corridor, gangway, walkway, path, lane, alley
1.1A passage between cabinets and shelves of goods in a supermarket or other building: I spend much of my time at the shops, wandering through the aisles...
- He wandered down the long aisle between the shelves that towered far too high to reach, stuffed with books.
- The more choice we have, the less likely we are to enjoy the shared experience - unless it's wandering around the supermarket aisles in a mass daze, wondering what to buy.
- You wander through the aisles of any supermarket and everything is the same.
1.2 Architecture (In a church) a lower part parallel to the nave, choir, or transept, from which it is divided by pillars: the tiled roof over the south aisle...
- In a gothic cathedral, the nave is flanked by aisles which run parallel to it.
- The church is later English; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with porch and tower.
- Although St George's had to be wider than it was long, he managed to create a central, square nave flanked by galleried aisles, with an apse containing a magnificent tall reredos to the east.
Phrases
lead someone up the aisle
walk down the aisle
Derivatives
aisled
/ adjective ...- The hotel contains an oak timber frame thought to have formed the end of an aisled hall, a popular form of building among well-off peasants in the 13 th century.
- Now you see that what it resembles is a preaching hall, like Les Jacobins in Toulouse, rather than an aisled, chapel-lined cathedral.
- They vary in plan (not least because some were developed over generations), but often incorporate aisled elements or courtyards.
Origin
Late Middle English ele, ile, from Old French ele, from Latin ala 'wing'. The spelling change in the 17th century was due to confusion with isle and influenced by French aile 'wing'.
The early spellings ele, ile are from Old French ele, from Latin ala ‘wing’. The spelling change in the 17th century was due to confusion with isle (see island); the word was also influenced by French aile ‘wing’.