Badlands

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbæd.lændz/

Definitions

1. A rugged and barren terrain characterized by steep slopes and deep canyons, often eroded by wind and water
2. A desolate landscape marked by stark geological formations, typically lacking vegetation
3. An area marked by harsh conditions, with sparse plant life and a distinctive topography shaped by erosion and weathering

Etymology: The name began as a translation of a phrase that French-speaking travelers in what is now the northern Great Plains used for a stretch of rough, eroded country. The French, "mauvaises terres à traverser," meant "bad lands to cross," and it was itself a rendering of a Lakota name, "Makȟóšiča," built from words meaning "land" and "bad." English speakers took the French phrase and turned it into the two-word "Bad Lands," a calque that carried the warning in its wording rather than the geology. The English form then settled into one word, "badlands," and its meaning stayed close to the original idea of hard going: terrain where the soil erodes into gullies, ridges and pale spires, and where little grows. The name was attached to a particular terrain, and the word's sense of desolation comes from the travelers' experience of crossing it rather than from any inherent quality of the rock.

Synonyms: wasteland, desolate area, barren land, rugged terrain, badlands area