Alleys

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæ.liz/

Definitions

1. Narrow streets or passageways, often situated between structures, can facilitate movement or access in urban settings
2. These passageways, often created for utility access or informal routes, are usually less traveled than main roads
3. Paths or narrow lanes situated between buildings, typically found in urban areas and used for walking or service access

Etymology: "Alleys" is the plural of "alley," and the singular has a wonderfully odd backstory: the word is a shrunken form of "alabaster." The marbles that children played with were once carved from that pale stone, so a little alabaster ball became an "alley," and the name later drifted to the lanes where those games were played, and then to the narrow passages between buildings. The main word itself came into Middle English as "aleye," borrowed from Anglo-Norman "aleie," a feminine form of "alé," the past participle of "aler," meaning "to go." That French root is the same one behind modern French "aller," so the idea underneath is simply a route you travel. "Alley" is a doublet of "allée," the French word for a tree-lined walk, so the two English and French forms share a single ancestor that split into different senses.

Synonyms: lanes, passages, narrow streets