swale
[sweyl]
noun Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
a low place in a tract of land, usually moister and often having ranker vegetation than the adjacent higher land.
a valleylike intersection of two slopes in a piece of land.
Origin of swale
1400–50; late Middle English; originally a cool, shady spot, perhaps < Old Norse svalr cool, or svalir a covered porch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for swale
mud, marshland, quagmire, morass, bog, gorge, canyon, basin, plain, lowland, glade, fen, mire, moor, marsh, slough, swampland, quag, polder, glenExamples from the Web for swale
Historical Examples of swale
No breath of air stirred the foliage or the bending rushes in the swale.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
"Oh, it's just that swale to the right of the driveway," said Rufus.
In Apple-Blossom TimeClara Louise Burnham
"He may be in the swale," muttered the watcher as he stood with his eye to the loop-hole.
A Little Norsk; Or, Ol' Pap's FlaxenHamlin Garland
There are areas of swale, or wet bottom-lands, which may be drained to advantage.
A Report on Washington TerritoryWilliam Henry Ruffner
Myton is on the Swale, near its junction with the Ure, and so a little east of Boroughbridge.
The BruceJohn Barbour
swale
noun
Word Origin for swale
C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse svala to chill
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper