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SWALE

 - 3 dictionary results

swale

  [sweyl] ,
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–noun Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
1. a low place in a tract of land, usually moister and often having ranker vegetation than the adjacent higher land.
2. a valleylike intersection of two slopes in a piece of land.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME; orig. a cool, shady spot, perh. < ON svalr cool, or svalir a covered porch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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swale   (swāl)   
n.  

  1. A low tract of land, especially when moist or marshy.

  2. A long, narrow, usually shallow trough between ridges on a beach, running parallel to the coastline.

  3. A shallow troughlike depression that carries water mainly during rainstorms or snow melts.


[Perhaps from Middle English, shade, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse svalr, cool.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

swale 
"low, hollow place, often boggy," 1584, special use of Scottish swaill "low, hollow place," or dialectal East Anglian swale "shady place" (c.1440); both probably from O.N. svalr "cool," from P.Gmc. *swalaz.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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