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Wale

Dialect
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To choose or select; the best of a group, the pick or chosen example.

Detailed Definition
"Wale" is both verb and noun — to wale is to choose, and the wale is the best choice, the cream of the selection. It appears in Scots verse in contexts of selection and judgement, and it carries the Scots appreciation for discernment and the ability to recognise quality. Burns uses related vocabulary in celebrations of the best of things — the wale of food, the wale of company — and the word belongs to the tradition of Scots verse that insists on the importance of taste and judgement in the good life. To wale well is a moral as much as aesthetic act.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Wale" means to choose or select, or the best of something; A poet might write: "He waled his words wi' care that day — / nae careless phrase was let tae stray." to show deliberate speech; "She waled the ripest fruit frae the tree — / the best of summer, wild and free." for a harvest poem; "Wale well the path ye mean tae walk — / nae road returns tae its starting clock." offers proverbial counsel; "The wale of all the songs he knew / was one she'd sung the whole night through." uses the word to mean the finest or choicest; "Wale yer battles, wale yer friends — / on such choices, life depends." applies the term to life choices broadly
Additional Notes
Wale is an important Scots literary term because it carries both the verb sense “to choose” and the noun sense “the choicest part” or “best example.” Poets use it in courtship verse, devotional writing, and praise poetry, where selecting implies discernment, value, or favour. Burns uses forms of this vocabulary in Scots diction. Students should watch for subtle ambiguity: a poet may mean either the act of choosing or the chosen object itself. Related concepts include elect, pick, cull, and choice, making wale especially useful in discussions of poetic judgement and symbolic preference.
Also Known As
Choose Select Pick Choice Pick of the bunch
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