different between dell vs defile

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: d?l, IPA^(key): /d?l/
• Rhymes: -?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English delle, del, from Old English dell (“small dale”), from Proto-Germanic *dalj? (“a hollow, abyss”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *dal? (“valley, dale”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?ol-, *d?el- (“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.

   • 1722, Thomas Tickell, Kensington Gardens

     In dells and dales, conceal'd from human sight.

Synonyms

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

Translations

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.
   • 1621, Ben Jonson, The Gypsies Metamorphosed

     Sweet doxies and dells

Derived terms

• wapping dell

References

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *daisl?, from Proto-Indo-European *g??iH-slo (compare Latin f?lum, Lithuanian gýsla, Serbo-Croatian ž?la).

Noun

dell m (indefinite plural dej, definite singular delli, definite plural dejt)

1. (anatomy) tendon
2. sinew

Declension

References

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic ????? (?ill).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?ll/

Noun

dell m (plural dellijiet)

1. shade, shadow

Manx

Verb

dell (verbal noun dellal)

1. to negotiate, deal, trade, traffic

Mutation

Middle English

Noun

dell

1. Alternative form of delle

Westrobothnian

Preposition

dell

1. Alternative form of dill

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??fa?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English defilen (“to make dirty”), alteration (due to Middle English defoulen, defoilen (“to trample, abuse”)) of Middle English befilen (“to befoul, to defile, to make foul”), from Old English bef?lan (“to befoul, defile”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- + *f?lijan? (“to defile, make filthy”). Equivalent to de- +? file. Cognate with Dutch bevuilen (“to defile, soil”). More at de-, file, be-, and foul.

Verb

defile (third-person singular simple present defiles, present participle defiling, simple past and past participle defiled)

1. (transitive) To make unclean, dirty, or impure; soil; befoul.
2. (transitive) To vandalize or add inappropriate contents to something considered sacred or special; desecrate

3. (transitive) To deprive or ruin someone's (sexual) purity or chastity, often not consensually; stain; tarnish; mar; rape

Synonyms

• (make unclean): contaminate, pollute, spoil, sully; see also Thesaurus:dirty
• (vandalize something considered sacred): desecrate, profane; see also Thesaurus:desecrate
• (violate chastity of): ravish, violate, vitiate

Antonyms

• (make unclean): clean, purify; see also Thesaurus:make clean
• (vandalize something considered sacred): sanctify; see also Thesaurus:consecrate

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Earlier defilee, from French défilé, from défiler (“to march past”), from file (“file”).

Noun

defile (plural defiles)

1. A narrow way or passage, e.g. between mountains.
   • 1958, Plutarch, Ian Scott-Kilvert (translator), "Life of Nicias" in Lives: The Fall of the Roman Republic

     The next morning the enemy were on the march before him, seized the defiles, blocked the fords of the rivers, destroyed the bridges, and sent out cavalry to patrol the open ground, so as to oppose the Athenians at every step as they retreated.

2. A single file, such as of soldiers.
3. The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior.

Translations

See also

• glen

Verb

defile (third-person singular simple present defiles, present participle defiling, simple past and past participle defiled)

1. (archaic, intransitive) To march in a single file; to file.
   • 1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, p.138:

     They defiled down a gully to the water and bunched and jerked their noses at it and came back.

Translations

Anagrams

• e-filed

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From French défilé.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /def?le?/
• Hyphenation: de?fi?le

Noun

defìl? m (Cyrillic spelling ???????)

1. march-past

Declension

References

• “defile” in Hrvatski jezi?ni portal