A variant or archaic term for a shawl or similar garment, or historically a type of lightweight cloth.
Possibly from French 'châle' (shawl) or related to East Indian textile terms that traveled through trade routes. The word appears in historical texts related to cloth commerce and clothing.
This word exemplifies how language tracks the movement of luxury goods—Eastern textiles had Indian names that transformed as they moved through French and then English-speaking markets.
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