noun
1.
a valley.
2.
the world, or mortal or earthly life: this vale of tears.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French val < Latin vallem, accusative of vallis, vallēs valley
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French val < Latin vallem, accusative of vallis, vallēs valley
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To vale
Collins
World English Dictionary
vale1 (veɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a literary word for valley | |
| [C13: from Old French val, from Latin vallis valley] | |
00:10
Vale
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| vale2 (ˈvɑːleɪ) | |
| —sentence substitute | |
| farewell; goodbye | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
vale
river-land between two ranges of hills, c.1300, from O.Fr. val "valley," from L. vallem (nom. vallis, valles) "valley." Vale of years "old age" is from "Othello." Vale of tears "this world as a place of trouble" is attested from 1554.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Injustice will always be a part of life in this vale of tears.
To the great majority of the human race it is, indeed, a vale of tears.
The vale is the area surrounded almost completely by the mountains of the moon.
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