Tynedale

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A river valley and rural district in the north of England, following the course of the River Tyne through Northumberland
2. The area of northern England lying along the upper and middle reaches of the River Tyne, known for its dales and farmland
3. A named valley region in the northeast of England, traced by the River Tyne as it winds through Northumberland countryside

Etymology: Tynedale is a valley in Northumberland, in the north of England, named for the River Tyne that runs through it. The name is a straightforward compound of two Old English elements: "Tyne", the river's name, and "dæl", meaning "valley" or "dale". Put together, the name simply means "the valley of the Tyne", with the second element "dale" keeping its ordinary sense in the many English place names where it appears. The river's own name is older and more obscure than the valley's. It is generally thought to be of pre-English, Celtic origin, and it is the river rather than the valley that carries that ancient layer. The English settlers who named the dale did not invent a new word for the water; they attached their familiar term for a valley to the existing river name, which is a common pattern across Britain.