wale

¹ American  

[wayl] / weɪl /

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 (opposed to 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, 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.

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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 American  

[wayl] / weɪl /

noun

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

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verb (used with object)

waled, waling

1. to choose; select.

wale ¹ British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to raise a wale or wales on by striking

2. to weave with a wale

wale ² British  

/ weɪl /

noun

1. a choice

2. anything chosen as the best

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adjective

1. choice

verb

1. (tr) to choose

Etymology

Origin of wale¹

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

Origin of wale²

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wale waled waling

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

From Washington Post ● Jan. 8, 2022

So there will be swimming, swinging, climbing, leaping and harpooning from tall, bent-steel pipes that form the ship and ribs of the great white wale.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 17, 2016

The rapper then launched into a not-suitable-for-work rant against a former magazine editor who tweeted, “if i’m trump i’m pushing the narrative that obama really put wale on his playlist in an effort to undermine his administration.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 11, 2016

Resoled in Saratoga, riveting in a wide wale suit, I use law, Ed.

From Time ● Apr. 4, 2015

Pieces of quartering nailed to the sides amidships, from the wale upwards; for the people ascending or descending the ship.

From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher

All nite long the bereaved inmates uv that wunst happy but now distracted home wept and waled in agony wich wuz perfectly heart rendin.

From "Swingin Round the Cirkle." His Ideas Of Men, Politics, And Things, As Set Forth In His Letters To The Public Press, During The Year 1866. by Thomas Nast

I waled straight to Edmee's room, knocked, and entered at once.

From Mauprat by Stanley Young

Cast yourself at His feet, and see if you do not get at His hands as rare an outgate and as wonderfully waled a cross as the very best of them got.

From Samuel Rutherford and some of his correspondents by Alexander Whyte

The inhabitants of Java call them lawit, and the mountaineers give them the names of berongdagæ or waled.

From An Historical View of the Philippine Islands, Vol I (of 2) Exhibiting their discovery, population, language, government, manners, customs, productions and commerce. by Martinez de Zuniga

Glencairn, He saw mischief was brewin; An' like a godly, elect bairn, He's waled us out a true ane, And sound, this day.

From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns

Through sobbing and waling, he said he was sorry and couldn’t believe it had happened.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 18, 2015

Forced crying and waling is a big thing is North Korea.

From The Verge ● Dec. 28, 2014

White Sox starter John Danks lasted six innings, giving up one run on three hits while waling four and striking out three.

From Chicago Tribune ● Apr. 17, 2014

“It was all so beautiful,” she said, waling past the headquarter’s once grand entrance.

From New York Times ● Nov. 21, 2012

In this frame the vertical members were Wakefield sheet-piling plank, spaced 6 to 10 ft. apart, and connected by three lines of double waling bolted to the verticals at three different heights.

From Concrete Construction Methods and Costs by Halbert Powers Gillette