wale
/ˈweɪl/noun, verb
wale is spelled W-A-L-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wale means “A ridge or low barrier” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wale is wales.
How many letters and syllables are in wale?
| Letters | 4: W-A-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,187th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is wale?
Wale appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wale?
- /ˈweɪl/
- [ˈweɪɫ]
Wale has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-wale.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with wale
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: wail, whale (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with wale?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as wale.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: weal, lawe.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of wale
- wales plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- waling participle, present
- waled participle, past
- wail
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wale mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A ridge or low barrier.
- 2
A raised rib in knitted goods or fabric, especially corduroy.
- 3
The texture of a piece of fabric.
- 4
A horizontal ridge or ledge on the outside planking of a wooden ship, such as a gunwale or a chainwale.
- 5
A horizontal timber used for supporting or retaining earth.
- 6
A timber bolted to a row of piles to secure them together and in position.
- 7
A ridge on the outside of a horse collar.
- 8
A ridge or streak produced on skin by a cane or whip.
- 9
ScotlandSomething selected as being the best, preference; choice; choosing.
verb
- 1
To strike the skin in such a way as to produce a wale or welt.
- 2
To beat a person, especially as punishment or out of anger.
- 3
To give a surface a texture of wales or welts.
- 4
ScotlandTo choose, select.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wale in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wale come from?
The noun is from Middle English wāle (“planking, welt”), from Old English walu (“ridge, bank; rib, comb (of helmet); metal ridge on top of helmet; weal, mark of a blow”), from Proto-Germanic *waluz (“stick, root”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Akin to Low German wāle; Old Norse vala (“knuckle”). The verb is from late Middle English wālen, from the noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).