dole

¹

[dohl]

noun

1. a portion or allotment of money, food, etc., especially as given at regular intervals by a charity or for maintenance.

   Synonyms: pittance, share, alms

2. a dealing out or distributing, especially in charity.

3. a form of payment to the unemployed instituted by the British government in 1918.

4. any similar payment by a government to an unemployed person.

5. Archaic.,  one's fate or destiny.

verb (used with object)

doled, doling 

1. to distribute in charity.

2. to give out sparingly or in small quantities (usually followed byout ).

   The last of the water was doled out to the thirsty crew.

   Synonyms: ration, mete

dole

²

[dohl]

noun

Archaic.

1. grief or sorrow; lamentation.

Dole

³

[dohl]

noun

1. Robert J(oseph), 1923–2021, U.S. politician: senator 1969–96.

2. Sanford Ballard, 1844–1926, U.S. politician and jurist in Hawaii: president of Republic of Hawaii 1894–98; first territorial governor 1900–03.

dole

¹

/ dəʊl /

noun

1. a small portion or share, as of money or food, given to a poor person

2. the act of giving or distributing such portions

3. informal,  money received from the state while out of work

4. informal,  receiving such money

5. archaic,  fate

verb

1. to distribute, esp in small portions

dole

²

/ dəʊl /

noun

1. archaic,  grief or mourning

Word History and Origins

Origin of dole¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English dol, dal “part, subdivision,” Old English dāl, gedāl “sharing”; deal ¹

Origin of dole²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English dol, dol(e), doll from Old French duel, doel, from Late Latin dolus, for Latin dolor dolor

Word History and Origins

Origin of dole¹

Old English dāl share; related to Old Saxon dēl, Old Norse deild, Gothic dails, Old High German teil; see _deal ¹

Origin of dole²

C13: from Old French, from Late Latin dolus, from Latin dolēre to lament

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the dole, receiving payment from the government, as relief.

   They couldn't afford any luxuries while living on the dole.

Example Sentences

The character already got his much-deserved happily ever after and now shows up to dole out sage advice and support for the family.

From Los Angeles Times

In previous rounds of funding, the city doled out money based on the number of units in a project.

From Los Angeles Times

Here she’s dealing with a smooth talker doling out empty promises, a crybaby who can’t decide what he wants, even a guy so fixated on self-betterment that he’s lost interest in the bedroom.

From Los Angeles Times

You can almost imagine its former life — department memos, summons from the dean, the occasional illicit letter between English faculty — now repurposed to dole out parsley, marjoram, garlic powder.

From Salon

His research found that excluding the undocumented population had little to no effect on how congressional districts are doled out.

From Salon