clough

Meaning

1. (Northern-England, US) A narrow valley; a cleft in a hillside; a ravine, glen, or gorge.
2. A sluice used in returning water to a channel after depositing its sediment on the flooded land.
3. (dialectal) The cleft or fork of a tree; crotch.
4. (dialectal) A wood; weald.

Synonyms

water gate

hydropore

Translations

kloof

ravijn

dar bir vadi

Pronounced as (IPA)

/klʌf/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: clough

Inherited from Old English: *clōh

Cognate with Scots: cleuch

Cognate with Old High German: klāh

Cognate with Old High German: klingo

Cognate with Old Norse: klofi

Cognate with Dutch: kloof

In summary

From Middle English clough, clow, cloȝ, from Old English *clōh, from Proto-Germanic *klanhaz, *klanhō (“cleft, sluice, abyss”), of uncertain origin, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”).
Cognate with Scots cleuch (“gorge; ravine”), Old High German klāh (in placenames), Old High German klingo, klinga (“brook, cataract, gulf, rapids”). Perhaps conflated or influenced by Old Norse klofi (“a cleft or rift in a hill, ravine”); compare Dutch kloof (“a slit, crevice, chink”). See also cling, clove.