swale

A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose

1) windy, cold, bleak. N.


2) to singe or burn ; as, to sweal a hog ; a sweal'd cat, a cat whose hair or fur is singed off, by sleeping in the ashes. SWEAL is also sometimes applied to a candle that drozes and melts, called in Middlesex, FLARING. Ab A. S. SW.ELAN, to kindle, or set on fire ; to burn. N. and S.

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