ginnel

English

A ginnel in Barrowford, Lancashire.

Alternative forms

• guinnel, gennel

Etymology

From ginn (“a road or passage down to the sea”) +‎ -el (diminutive suffix), ultimately from Old English ginn (“a side expanse, an opening, abyss”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɪnəl/
• Rhymes: -ɪnəl

Noun

ginnel (plural ginnels)

1. (England, especially Yorkshire, Lancashire, Manchester) A narrow passageway or alley often between terraced houses.
   • 1885, Brierley, Benjamin, Ab-o'th'-Yate in Yankeeland‎^[1], page 59:

     […] maks things as pleasant as stondin in a ginnel ov a wyndy neet waitin o'th' sweetheart comin out.

   • 1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin, →OCLC, page 169:

     At the end of a short side-street a narrow ginnel with concrete bollards led into the surprisingly wide area in which the blocks of flats stood.

   • 2014 September 7, Davis, Aaron (lyrics), “Spitfire”, JDZ Media, performed by Davis, Aaron [as Bugzy Malone]:

     Pssht, get over here, whoopie / Finish him like Sub-Zero / Out the window, into the garden / Over the fence and straight through the ginnel

Synonyms

• ennog, snicket, twitchel
• See also Thesaurus:alley

Translations

narrow passageway

• Finnish: sola (fi), kuja (fi)
• French: venelle (fr) f
• German: Gasse (de) f

Anagrams

• elning