Wales

[weylz] /weɪlz/
noun
1.
a division of the United Kingdom, in SW Great Britain. 8016 sq. mi. (20,760 sq. km).
Medieval Cambria.

wale1

[weyl] /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.
verb (used with object), waled, waling.
7.
to mark with wales.
8.
to weave with wales.
9.
Engineering, Building Trades. to reinforce or fasten with a wale or wales.
Origin
before 1050; (noun) Middle English; Old English walu ridge, rib, wheal; cognate with Old Norse vǫlr, Gothic walus rod, wand; (v.) late Middle English, derivative of the noun

wale2

[weyl] /weɪl/
noun
1.
something that is selected as the best; choice.
verb (used with object), waled, waling.
2.
to choose; select.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English wal(e) < Old Norse val choice, velja to choose
Examples from the web for Wales
  • In these original ventures, the normans failed to make any headway into Wales.
  • Was last seen running a successful political campaign in Wales.
British Dictionary definitions for Wales

Wales

/weɪlz/
noun
1.
a principality that is part of the United Kingdom, in the west of Great Britain; conquered by the English in 1282; parliamentary union with England took place in 1536: a separate Welsh Assembly with limited powers was established in 1999. Wales consists mainly of moorlands and mountains and has an economy that is chiefly agricultural, with an industrial and former coal-mining area in the south. Capital: Cardiff. Pop: 2 938 000 (2003 est). Area: 20 768 sq km (8017 sq miles) Welsh name Cymru Medieval Latin name Cambria

wale1

/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 (sense 14)
3.
(nautical)
  1. a ridge of planking along the rail of a ship
  2. See gunwale
verb (transitive)
4.
to raise a wale or wales on by striking
5.
to weave with a wale
Word Origin
Old English waluweal1; related to Old Norse vala knuckle, Dutch wäle

wale2

/weɪl/
noun
1.
a choice
2.
anything chosen as the best
adjective
3.
choice
verb
4.
(transitive) to choose
Word Origin
C14: from Old Norse val choice, related to German Wahl
Word Origin and History for Wales

see Welsh.

wale

n.

Old English walu "ridge," as of earth or stone, later "ridge made on flesh by a lash" (related to weal (n.2)); from Proto-Germanic *walo (cf. Low German wale "weal," Old Frisian walu "rod," Old Norse völr "round piece of wood," Gothic walus "a staff, stick," Dutch wortel, German wurzel "root"). The common notion perhaps is "raised line." Used in reference to the ridges of textile fabric from 1580s. Wales "horizontal planks which extend along a ship's sides" is attested from late 13c.

Wales in Medicine

wale (wāl)
n.
A mark raised on the skin, as by a whip; a weal or welt. v. waled, wal·ing, wales
To raise marks on the skin, as by whipping.

Wales in Culture

Wales definition


One of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, occupying the western peninsula of the island of Great Britain. Its capital and largest city is Cardiff.

Note: Welsh culture is known for its writers and singers, dating back more than one thousand years to the bards (poet-singers) of the Middle Ages.