WALE, noun 1. In cloth, a ridge or streak rising above the rest. We say, cloth is wove with a wale 2. A streak or stripe; the mark of a rod or whip on animal flesh. WALEs of a ship, an assemblage of strong planks, extending along a ships sides throughout the whole length, at different heights, and serving to strengthen the decks and form the curves. They are distinguished into the main wale and the channel wale
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI