dale

¹ American  

[deyl] / deɪl /

noun

1. a valley, especially a broad valley.

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Dale ² American  

[deyl] / deɪl /

noun

1. Sir Henry Hallett 1875–1968, English physiologist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1936.

2. Sir Thomas, died 1619, British colonial administrator in America: governor of Virginia 1614–16.

3. a male or female given name.

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Dale ¹ British  

/ deɪl /

noun

1. Sir Henry Hallet. 1875–1968, English physiologist: shared a Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1936 with Otto Loewi for their work on the chemical transmission of nerve impulses

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dale ² British  

/ deɪl /

noun

1. an open valley, usually in an area of low hills

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Dale Scientific  

/ dāl /

1. British physiologist who discovered acetylcholine and, with Otto Loewi, investigated the chemical transmission of nerve impulses. For this work they shared the 1936 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

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Etymology

Origin of dale

before 900; Middle English dal, Old English dæl; cognate with German Tal, Old Norse dalr, Gothic dals

Explanation

A dale is a valley, a wide, open area that stretches between hills. Some dales have rivers or streams flowing through them, while others are covered in grasses or other plants. When a geologist describes something as a dale or a valley, it is typically a low area that's longer than it is wide, and bordered on at least two sides by hills or mountains. Dales with rivers are often called "vales," while a very small dale is sometimes called a "hollow," pronounced "holler" in rural Appalachia. Dale comes from the Old English word for "valley," dæl.

Example Sentences

Sofia Vergara is nominated for “Griselda” — dale, homegirl!

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2024

Keep going to the even more spectacular Whitfield, before ascending out of the glen and taking a moorland track back to Askrigg, with commanding views over the dale.

From The Guardian • Aug. 1, 2019

On the southern flank of the dale, David Dinsdale calls instructions to his border collie Tom to round up his flock of mule gimmers - young ewes.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2015

Every two years, the call goes out from hill and dale: “This is the most important election of our lifetimes,” politicians trumpet to the crowds.

From Time • Nov. 4, 2014

Less than a mile away, and a little below them, for they still stood high up on the west side of the dale, there lay a mere.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien