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Definition of yale

yale

/jeɪl/
yale
Plural:yales
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yale Lexical Profile

yale Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

American A prestigious private Ivy League research university located in New Haven, Connecticut, founded in 1701 (in full Yale University; capitalized as a proper noun).

Example

"She earned her doctorate in history from Yale before joining the faculty at a state university."

2

A mythical four-legged beast in European mythology and heraldry, typically depicted as resembling an antelope or goat with tusks and large horns that it can swivel independently in any direction.

Example

"Among the carved heraldic statues of the King's Beasts at Hampton Court Palace stands a yale with its distinctive swiveling horns."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for yale

• Rhymes for yale

• Nearby Words

yakovlevo
yakutsk
yakuza
yale
yalong
yalta
yalu

Word Origin & Etymology

The mythical beast sense derives from Old French yale, from Latin eale (recorded by Pliny the Elder), possibly ultimately from Hebrew ya'el, meaning 'ibex' or 'mountain goat'. The university and lock senses are named after Elihu Yale (1649–1721) and Linus Yale Jr. (1821–1868), respectively, whose surname is an Anglicization of the Welsh district name Iâl.

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Yale. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/yale
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