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Apr 20, 2026
This week’s themeWords found in poetry This week’s words 
Sunlight and Shadow: The Newbury Marshes, c. 1871-1875
Art: Martin Johnson Heade Previous week’s theme Words with surprising etymological journeys Wordsmith Games
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargSamuel Taylor Coleridge said, “Prose: words in their best order; poetry: the best words in the best order.” We do our part by bringing you the words. What you do with them -- prose, poetry, grocery lists, ransom notes -- is up to you. This week in A.Word.A.Day we’ll feature words whose usage examples are drawn from poetry. Everyone should write a poem or two in a lifetime. Better yet, everyone should inspire one now and then. Have you written a poem, or been the occasion for one? Share your story below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state). swale
PRONUNCIATION:
(swayl)
MEANING:
noun: A low tract of land, especially one that is moist or marshy; also, a shallow channel or depression.
ETYMOLOGY:
Origin uncertain. Earliest documented use: 1584.
USAGE:
“Why do we bother with the rest of the day, the swale of the afternoon, the sudden dip into evening, then night with his notorious perfumes, his many-pointed stars?” Billy Collins; Morning; Poetry (Chicago, Illinois); Jun 1996. See more usage examples of swale in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of
the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions. -Robert Lynd, writer (20
Apr 1879-1949)
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