From Middle English vayle, from Old French vail, from valoir (“to be worth”), from Latin valeō (“to be worth”).
Meanings
(obsolete) Profit; return; proceeds.
My house is as t’were the Caue, where the yong Out-lawe hoords the stolne vayles of his occupation […] 1605, George Chapman, Ben Jonson, John Marston, Eastward Hoe, London: William Aspley, act II, scene 2:
(in-plural, obsolete) Money given to servants by visitors; a gratuity; also vale.
Do you remember, how many Rich Gowns and Petticoats, how many lac’d Pinners, Hoods, Scarfs, and Nightrails, I have given you, since the three Years you have serv’d me, together with many other Vails, Perquisites, and Profits you have enjoy’d in my Service? 1696, John Dryden, The Husband His Own Cuckold, London: J. Tonson, act I, scene 1, page 9:
[…] it is a maxim among the gentlemen of our cloth, that those masters who promise the most, perform the least; and I have often heard them say, they have found the largest vails in those families where they were not promised any. 1742, Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews, London: Harrison & Co., published 1780, Volume I, Book 2, Chapter 16, p. 91:
From Middle English valen; either from Anglo-Norman valer or a clipping of avalen. Compare avale.
Meanings
(obsolete, transitive) To lower, let fall; to allow or cause to sink.
Then let them vale a bonet of their proud ſayle, c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.
[…] Vail your regard
Upon a wrong’d, I would fain have said, a maid! c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
[…] when he shall know it lies in vs,
To banish him, and then to call him home,
Twill make him vaile the topflag of his pride,
And feare to offend the meanest noble man. 1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
(transitive) To lower or “dip” a carried flag or banner in a salute by a forward reducing of the angle of the pike/flagstaff with respect to the ground; in extreme instances, as when saluting a monarch, both the banner and the finial of the pike are allowed to rest upon the ground.
(intransitive, obsolete) To lower a sail, in salute or otherwise.
Both we will walke vpon the loftie cliffes,
And Chriſtian Merchants that with Ruſſian ſtems
Plow vp huge furrowes in the Caſpian ſea,
Shall vaile to vs, as Lords of al the Lake. c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
(obsolete, transitive) To remove as a sign of deference, as a hat.
[…] Now the time is come
That France must vail her lofty-plumed crest
And let her head fall into England’s lap. 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
[…] the Templar […], without vailing his bonnet, or testifying any reverence for the alleged sanctity of the relic, took from his neck a gold chain, which he flung on the board […] 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:
(intransitive, obsolete) To pay homage, bow, submit, defer (to someone or something); to yield, give way (to something).
She would with rich and constant pen
Vail to her mistress Dian; c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry Gosson, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act IV, prologue]:
[…] when a Man does not readily vail to the Opinions of approved Authors, which have been received with respect and submission by others 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 4, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 346:
1692, Robert South, Discourses on Various Subjects and Occasions, Boston: Bowles & Dearborn, 1827, Discourse 5, p. 370,
Thy convenience must vail to thy neighbour’s necessity.
Ha! I see Venus’ transit now;—lo! a new planet there;—and behind all, an infinite starry nebulousness, as if thy being were backgrounded by some spangled vail of mystery. 1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The Ambiguities: