dell

See also: Dell, Dëll, and dell'

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl/
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Etymology 1

From Middle English delle, del, from Old English dell (“small dale”), from Proto-Germanic *daljō (“a hollow, abyss”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *dalą (“valley, dale”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰol-, *dʰel- (“an arch, vaulting, curve, curvature, cavity”). Cognate with Dutch del (“a dell”), German Delle (“a hollow”).

Noun

dell (plural dells)

1. A valley, especially in the form of a natural hollow, small and deep.
   • 1794, William Blake, The Little Girl Found, lines 49-50

     To this day they dwell

     In a lonely dell.

   • Tickell

     In dells and dales, concealed from human sight.

Synonyms

• dale
• dingle
• vale
• valley
• See also Thesaurus:valley

Translations

valley — see valley

Etymology 2

Origin obscure. Originally thieves' cant. Compare Dutch del (“trollop, floozie”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

dell (plural dells)

1. (obsolete) A young woman; a wench.
   • Ben Jonson

     Sweet doxies and dells

Derived terms

• wapping dell

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Albanian

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Albanian *daislā, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-slo (compare Latin fīlum, Lithuanian gýsla, Serbo-Croatian žȉla).

Noun

dell m (plural dej)

1. (anatomy) tendon
2. sinew

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Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic ظِلّ (ẓill).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛll/

Noun

1. shade; shadow

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Manx

Verb

dell (verbal noun dellal)

1. to negotiate, deal, trade, traffic

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Middle English

Noun

dell

1. Alternative form of delle

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