wale

¹

[weyl]

noun

1. a streak, stripe, or ridge produced on the skin by the stroke of a rod or whip; welt.

2. the vertical rib in knit goods or a chain of loops running lengthwise in knit fabric (course ).

3. the texture or weave of a fabric.

4. Nautical.

   1. any of certain strakes of thick outside planking on the sides of a wooden ship.

   2. gunwale.

5. Also called breast timber,. Also called ranger, waling. Engineering, Building Trades.,  a horizontal timber or other support for reinforcing various upright members, as sheet piling or concrete form boards, or for retaining earth at the edge of an excavation.

6. a ridge on the outside of a horse collar.

verb (used with object)

waled, waling 

1. to mark with wales.

2. to weave with wales.

3. Engineering, Building Trades.,  to reinforce or fasten with a wale or wales.

wale

²

[weyl]

noun

1. something that is selected as the best; choice.

verb (used with object)

waled, waling 

1. to choose; select.

wale

¹

/ weɪl /

noun

1. the raised mark left on the skin after the stroke of a rod or whip

2. 1. the weave or texture of a fabric, such as the ribs in corduroy

   2. a vertical row of stitches in knitting Compare course

3. nautical

   1. a ridge of planking along the rail of a ship

   2. See gunwale

verb

1. to raise a wale or wales on by striking

2. to weave with a wale

wale

²

/ weɪl /

noun

1. a choice

2. anything chosen as the best

adjective

1. choice

verb

1. (tr) to choose

Word History and Origins

Origin of wale¹

First recorded before 1050; Middle English; Old English walu “ridge, rib, welt”; cognate with Old Norse vǫlr, Gothic walus “rod, wand”; wheal;

Origin of wale²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun wal(e), from Old Norse val “choice,”

Word History and Origins

Origin of wale¹

Old English walu _weal ¹ ; related to Old Norse vala knuckle, Dutch wäle

Origin of wale²

C14: from Old Norse val choice, related to German Wahl

Example Sentences

The fugues, meanwhile, weave something more like the wale of a domestic fabric.

Read more on Washington Post

That search of money has been more visible in the U.S. than Europe, though the levels of issuance has been well-below levels seen in the wale of the 2008 financial crisis.

Read more on Reuters

Merchandise Wide wale corduroy, cheetah prints, pearl fringe and purple-dyed denim all share a rack, yet somehow #GANNIGirls all look similar.

Read more on New York Times

So I went to wale on him … And God said, ‘Go ahead,’” he said.

Read more on Fox News

And ‘wale’—while spelled differently than the word for the gargantuan aquatic creature—contributes to my concerns.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal