noun
vale
VAYL/veɪl/
A valley, especially in poetry or place names.
A silver stream winds through the quiet vale below the hills.
Etymology
Latin vallis also underlies valley, so vale preserves the same landscape meaning rather than a distinct kind of valley. Its distinctive feature today is its literary and poetic use.
In context
A dark valley between three mighty, heaven- abiding peaks, that almost seem the Trinity, in some faint earthly symbol. So in this vale of Death, God girds us round
More examples
- The poet describes a misty vale at dawn.
- The village sits in a sheltered vale between two ridges.
- From the summit, we see wooded vales stretching toward the coast.
Forms
vale · vales
Similar words
- valley
- The everyday term, without the literary flavor of vale.
- glen
- Usually a narrow valley, rather than one of any width.