SWALE, noun [probably from vale.] A local word in New England, signifying an interval or vale; a tract of low land. 1. In England, a shade. SWALE, verb intransitive To waste. [See Sweal.] SWALE, verb transitive To dress a hog for bacon, by singeing or burning off his hair. [Local.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI