Tuesday, September 9, 2008

regale

regale \rih-GAY(uh)L\, transitive verb:

1. To entertain with something that delights.
2. To entertain sumptuously with fine food and drink.
3. To feast.
4. A sumptuous feast.
5. A choice food; a delicacy.
6. Refreshment.

If I've been away, and the boys do remember to ask about my trip, I remark on their thoughtfulness by saying, 'Thanks for asking!' and then regale them with stories about my journey.
-- Lucy Calkins, Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent's Guide
He might also regale them with tales of how his Magic team beat Jordan's Bulls, 108-102, in Game 6 to win their four-of-seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series before a stunned crowd of 24,332 tonight at the United Center.
-- "Bulls Burst in the Air as Magic Moves On", New York Times, May 19, 1995
Levin settled his guests in the dense, cool shade of the young aspens on a bench and some stumps purposely put there for visitors to the bee-house who might be afraid of the bees, and he went off himself to the hut to get bread, cucumbers, and fresh honey, to regale them with.
-- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, translated by Constance Garnett

Regale comes from French régaler, "to entertain." It is related to gallant.

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