Dingle

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdɪŋɡl̩/

Definitions

1. A small wooded valley or dell, typically with steep sides
2. A narrow, wooded depression often found in hilly regions that may serve as a secluded natural retreat
3. A small valley covered with trees, often enclosed by steep slopes and appearing as a secluded natural hollow

Etymology: The dingle is a close relative of the dungeon. Both descend from an Old English word "dung," meaning a pit or underground hollow, which is the same root that gave us the dungeon's earlier sense of a dark pit. The Old English "dyngel" was formed by adding the diminutive suffix "-le" to "dung," so it originally meant something like "little pit" or "small hollow." Over the Middle English period the word settled into describing a deep, sheltered hollow in the land, and by the time it reached modern English it had narrowed to a wooded valley with steep sides. The landscape it names is the same one a dungeon-like hollow suggests: a dip in the ground, shaded and enclosed. Its cousins show the family resemblance. Saterland Frisian "Dongel" means a hollow tooth or cavity, and the English dialect word "dimble," meaning a glen or retired place, is a close relation, so the root has spread across several Germanic languages while keeping the sense of a hollow.

Synonyms: glen, dale, hollow, vale, woodland