an open river valley (in a hilly area)
"The ancient stone cottage stood quietly in the green dale, surrounded by rolling hills and babbling streams."
A valley, often in an otherwise hilly area.
"The mechanic installed a metal dale to channel excess rainwater away from the foundation."
A trough or spout to carry off water, as from a pump.
In plain English: A dale is an old-fashioned word for a valley, which is just low land between hills or mountains where water often flows through it.
"The family spent their summer vacation in a quiet valley called Green Dale."
Usage: Use this word to describe either a natural valley between hills or the artificial channel that carries away liquid from a source like a roof gutter. Avoid confusing it with similar-sounding words when referring specifically to geographical depressions versus plumbing fixtures.
A surname, from Middle English for someone living in a dale.
"Many residents of the valley adopted Dale as their surname to honor their ancestral home."
The word dale comes directly from the Old English term meaning a valley or hollow ground. It traveled into modern usage unchanged through Middle and Early Modern English without any shift in its original sense of a low area between hills.