Etymology Dictionary

WALE, WEAL,   the mark of a stroke of a rod or whip upon the flesh, a streak, a ridge, a plank along a ship's side.  (E.)   Sometimes spelt wheal, but a wheal is properly a blister; see Wheal (1).   'The wales, marks, scars, and cicatrices;' Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 459 (R.)   'The wales or marks of stripes and lashes;' id. p. 547 (R.)   M. E. wale.   'Wale, or strype,' Prompt. Parv.   'Wyghtly on the wale [gunwale] thay wye vp thair ankers;' Morte Arthure, 740.—A. S. walu (pl. wala), a weal, mark of a blow, occurring 4 times in glosses (Leo).   Leo accents it wálu, which cannot be right, as it would then have become wole in mod. E., just as A. S. mál became mole; see Mole (1).   We also find A. S. wyrt-wale, properly the spreading out or stump of a root, as when the root of a tree projects from the ground, hence used for 'root' simply; cf. 'ðu plantudest wyrttruman hys' = thou plantedst his roots, Ps. lxxix. 10, ed.   Spelman, where the Trinity MS. has 'ðu wyrtwalodes (sic) wirtwaloda,' the last word being corruptly written for wyrtwala.   The orig. sense was 'rod,' hence the rounded half-buried side-shoot of a root (as above), or the raised stripe or ridge caused by the blow of a rod or whip.   Hence also the sense of ridge or plank along the edge of a ship, as in the comp. gun-wale, q.v. + O. Fries. walu, a rod, wand; only in the comp. walubera, walebera, a rod-bearer, a pilgrim; North Friesic waal, a staff (Outzen). + Icel. völr (gen. valar), a round stick, a staff. + Swed. dial. val, a round stick, cudgel, flail-handle (Rietz). + Goth. walus, a staff; Luke, ix. 3.   β. All from the Teut. type WALU, a round stick, so named from its roundness; the sense of 'rounded ridge' still lingers in mod. E. wale; cf. Russ. val’, a cylinder, valiate, to roll.—Teut. base WAL, to turn round, hence to make round; see Walk.   Der. gun-wale.   Doublet, goal, q.v.