sweet gale

American  

noun

1. an aromatic shrub, Myrica gale, of marshes, having lance-shaped leaves and yellowish fruit.

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sweet gale British  

noun

1. Often shortened to: gale.  Also called: bog myrtle.  a shrub, Myrica gale, of northern swamp regions, having yellow catkin-like flowers and aromatic leaves: family Myricaceae

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Etymology

Origin of sweet gale

First recorded in 1630–40

Example Sentences

Harke you, Madam, the sweet gale of one Clarences breath, with this his paper sayle blowes me hether.

From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)

The sweet gale, Myrica Gale, and the sage, Salvia officinalis, were also similarly employed.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus" by Various

The popular name of a plant, also known as the sweet gale or gaul, sweet willow, bog or Dutch myrtle.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

Footnote 7: Ale brewed of the herb called sweet gale, or Dutch myrtle, instead of hops.--Tr.

From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin

The sweet gale next appears on its borders, and drift-wood, much of it rotten and comminuted, is thrown up on the exterior bank, together with some roots and stems of larger trees.

From The International Monthly Magazine, Volume 5, No. 1, January, 1852 by Various