Glen

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɡlɛn/

Definitions

1. A narrow valley, typically with a stream running through it and often found in mountainous regions
2. A secluded and often picturesque valley that is usually characterized by its narrow shape and the presence of a stream flowing within it
3. A small, narrow valley commonly featuring a running stream, often located amid hilly or mountainous terrain

Etymology: The Scottish "glen" carries a surprisingly old Celtic pedigree, and it reached English from the Gaelic languages rather than from Latin or French. Its ancestor, reconstructed as Proto-Celtic "glendos", meant simply "valley", and the same root survives in the Irish "gleann", the Scottish Gaelic "gleann", the Manx "glion" and the Welsh "glyn". Those cousins show how widely the word spread across the Celtic-speaking lands of the British Isles. Its origin may go even deeper. Some scholars link the Celtic root to a Proto-Indo-European form meaning "shore", though the word may instead have been borrowed from an older, non-Indo-European language spoken in the region before Celtic arrived. The evidence does not settle the question. The word entered Middle English, and the Welsh "glyn" is a doublet of it, descended from the same ancestor but reaching Welsh separately. The English word stayed closely tied to Scotland's deep, narrow valleys, which is why it still names places like Raven's Craig Glen in Ayrshire.

Synonyms: vale, valley