swale

[sweyl]

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.

swale

/ sweɪl /

noun

1. 1. a moist depression in a tract of land, usually with rank vegetation

   2. ( as modifier )

      swell and swale topography

Word History and Origins

Origin of swale¹

1400–50; late Middle English; originally a cool, shady spot, perhaps < Old Norse svalr cool, or svalir a covered porch

Word History and Origins

Origin of swale¹

C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse svala to chill

Example Sentences

The gutters help direct rainfall into pipes that drain into the swales.

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According to a city staff report, the city seeks to do so by filling fissures that have developed, constructing drainage swales that will divert runoff to the ocean and installing “dewatering wells” to extract groundwater.

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The land here was laser-leveled, and workers carved a swale to give juvenile salmon a way in and out when the plain floods.

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No home damage was reported, but the land movement had “undermined a paved terrace swale,” the report said.

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“It took me two months end to end,” Bautista said, including gutters, hardscape, edging and building a trench to the swale in the backyard.

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Related Words

• bog 
• marshland 
• morass 
• mud 
• quagmire