Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “vale” come from?

vale (Middle English) comes from Old French val, from Latin vallis, from Proto-Indo-European wēlH-, from Proto-Indo-European welH- — to turn, to wind.

Ancestry of “vale”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchvalvalley
2Latinvallisvalley, vale; hollow; dative plural of vāllum
3Proto-Indo-EuropeanwēlH-—
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanwelH-to turn, to wind

Words derived from “vale”

  • vale
  • Sunnyvale
  • Fruitvale
  • valo
  • valo
  • vali
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welH- →