Chunnels

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Tunnels built beneath a body of water or hill to carry trains, vehicles or pedestrians, especially those linking England and France under the English Channel
2. Underground passageways for transport routes, notably the rail link running beneath the English Channel between Britain and the European mainland
3. Subterranean transit tunnels, such as the famous underwater link connecting Britain with France beneath the sea

Etymology: "Chunnels" is the plural of "chunnel," a blend of "channel" and "tunnel." The noun "chunnel" was coined in the 1960s to refer to a tunnel under the English Channel, the strait between England and France, and it was popularized by the Channel Tunnel project. Blends like this, which fuse the start of one word with the end of another, were a common way to name new inventions in the twentieth century, and "chunnel" follows the same pattern as "motel" (motor plus hotel) and "smog" (smoke plus fog). The fused word captured both parts of its meaning: "channel" names the body of water being crossed, and "tunnel" names the structure that crosses it. The Channel Tunnel itself opened in 1994, linking Folkestone in England with Coquelles near Calais in France, and the plural "chunnels" is used for the tunnels in general, since the project built two rail tunnels plus a central service tunnel.

Synonyms: Channel Tunnel