Cliff

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /klɪf/

Definitions

1. A high and steep face of rock or earth that significantly descends towards the ground or water below
2. A natural geological formation characterized by its steep vertical drop, typically adjacent to a body of water or upon a hillside
3. A steep and rugged bank of earth or rock that rises abruptly above a lower area, often overlooking water or a valley

Etymology: The English word traces back to a Germanic root that meant something close to "to cleave" or "to split," which fits a rock face that has been broken off and left standing steep. Old English "clif" described exactly this kind of sheer rock, and it passed through Middle English "clyf" into the modern form with little change in its basic shape. The same Proto-Germanic ancestor, *klibą, gave the sense of a split or steep bank, so the word has always named a place where the land falls away abruptly.

Synonyms: precipice, bluff, crag, steep, scarp

Antonyms: plain, flatland, level ground, valley, basin