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Webster 1913 Edition


Wale

Wale

,
Noun.
[AS.
walu
a mark of stripes or blows, probably originally, a rod; akin to Icel.
völr
, Goth.
walus
a rod, staff. √146. Cf.
Goal
,
Weal
a wale.]
1.
A streak or mark made on the skin by a rod or whip; a stripe; a wheal. See
Wheal
.
Holland.

Syn. – welt; weal; wheal.
2.
A ridge or streak rising above the surface, as of cloth; hence, the texture of cloth.
Thou ’rt rougher far,
And of a coarser
wale
, fuller of pride.
Beau. & Fl.
3.
(Carp.)
A timber bolted to a row of piles to secure them together and in position.
Knight.
4.
(Naut.)
(a)
pl.
Certain sets or strakes of the outside planking of a vessel;
as, the main
wales
, or the strakes of planking under the port sills of the gun deck; channel
wales
, or those along the spar deck, etc.
(b)
A wale knot, or wall knot.
Wale knot
.
(Naut.)
See
Wall knot
, under 1st
Wall
.

Wale

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To mark with wales, or stripes.
2.
To choose; to select; specifically
(Mining)
, to pick out the refuse of (coal) by hand, in order to clean it.
[Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Webster 1828 Edition


Wale

WALE

,
Noun.
1.
In cloth, a ridge or streak rising above the rest. We say, cloth is wove with a wale.
2.
A streak or stripe; the mark of a rod or whip on animal flesh.
Wales of a ship, an assemblage of strong planks, extending along a ships sides throughout the whole length, at different heights, and serving to strengthen the decks and form the curves. They are distinguished into the main wale and the channel wale.