swale
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swale¹
- /sweɪl/
Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
Possibly from Middle English swale (“a shady place, a shadow”), perhaps of North Germanic origin; akin to Old Norse svalr (“cool, fresh”), Icelandic svalir (“a balcony running along a wall”).
noun swales
- A low tract of moist or marshy land.
- A long narrow and shallow trough between ridges on a beach, running parallel to the coastline.
- A shallow troughlike depression created to carry water during rainstorms or snow melts; a drainage ditch.
- Bioswale, a shallow trough dug into the land on contour (horizontally with no slope), whose purpose is to allow water time to percolate into the soil. The stored water creates an underground reservoir that aids plant growth for tens of feet below the swale. Swales also prevent gullies from forming by intercepting rainwater, slowing it, spreading it, and storing it in the soil.
- A shallow, usually grassy depression sloping downward from a plains upland meadow or level vegetated ridgetop. Jane climbed a few more paces behind him and then peeped over the ridge. Just beyond began a shallow swale that deepened and widened into a valley, and then swung to the left.
swale²
- /sweɪl/
Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
See sweal.
noun swales
- A gutter in a candle.
verb swales · swaling · swaled
- Alternative form of sweal (“melt and waste away, or singe”).
Swale³
Where it comes from
From Old English *swalwe (“rushing water”), which could be related to swealwe. Also compare the proper noun Swallow.
proper noun
- A river, a tributary of the Ure in North Yorkshire, England.
- A strait between the Isle of Sheppey and the Kentish mainland; in full, The Swale.
- A local government district with borough status in Kent, England, created in 1974 with its headquarters in Sittingbourne and named after the channel.
Translations
Every language
noun low tract of moist or marshy land
| Deutsch | Niederung, Flussniederung, Aue, Senke, Bodensenke, Bruch |
|---|---|
| Русский | низи́на nizína, топь topʹ |
noun shallow troughlike depression created to carry water
| Português | canaleta, valeta |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Drängraben, Flutgraben, Rigole |
noun shallow (man-made) trough to allow water to infiltrate the soil
| Deutsch | Sickergraben, Versickerungsmulde, Versickerungsgraben |
|---|
noun shallow depression sloping downward from a plains upland or level ridgetop
| Deutsch | Senke |
|---|
Talk about this word "swale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/swale. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. swale. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/swale "swale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/swale.Cite this
@misc{swale_2026,
title = {swale},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/swale},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
