Etymology

swale

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Today it means: A low tract of moist or marshy land. Full definition →

Middle English swale
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swale · noun1

  1. Middle English · inherited fromswale“a shady place, a shadow”
  2. English todayswale

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”).

swale · noun, verb2

See sweal.

Swale · proper noun3

  1. Old English · derived from*swalwe“rushing water”
  2. English todaySwale

From Old English *swalwe (“rushing water”), which could be related to swealwe. Also compare the proper noun Swallow.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.