glen

Meaning

A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a depression between hills; a dale.

Synonyms

valley

dale

vale

dell

ravine

gorge

canyon

deep ravine

nullah

mountain-pass

heugh

barranca

narrow defile

basin

defile

dingle

gap

holler

narrow

barranco

Translations

cañada

vadi

vale

gola

cânion

dere

vallée

gorge

Bergschlucht

vallée étroite

vallon

ravina

κλεισούρα

μικρή στενή κοιλάς

Kluft

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡlɛn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: glen

Cognate with Manx: glion

Cognate with Welsh: glyn

In summary

From Middle English glen, borrowed from Irish gleann and Scottish Gaelic gleann, Old and Middle Irish glend, glenn (“mountain valley”), from Proto-Celtic *glendos (“valley”), hypothetically from Proto-Indo-European *glend- (“shore”) but the word may have been borrowed from a non-Indo-European substrate language. Compare Manx glion, Welsh glyn. Doublet of glyn.