Hole, Hollow, Hope, Lair, Level: Words Meaning Valley, Cave

Valleys and caves, as well as human-made features having similar topographic effects, are known by many different words in English. In the current alphabetic series of such terms, the next examples are hole, hollow, hope, lair, and level.

Hole
Modern English hole comes from Middle English hole (14th century), which derives from two Old English sources: hol (before 12th century), from the neuter of the adjective hol ("hollow"), and holh ("hole, hollow place," before 12th century). The word is akin to the Old High German adjective hol ("hollow").

A hollowed-out place in the earth, such as a cave, a pit, or an animal den or burrow, is a hole (before 1000).

Hollow
The Modern English noun hollow (16th century) comes from the Middle English adjective forms holw (13th century) and holh (13th century), which go back to the Old English noun holh ("hole, hollow place," before 12th century).

The word has an unusual history. In Old English, it was used only as a noun. In Middle English, it was used only as an adjective. In the mid-16th century, it reemerged as a noun, and since then it has been both a noun and an adjective (the adverb use began in the early 17th century).

An early, now obsolete, sense of hollow is a cave, a den, or a burrow (before 1000).

One of the principal meanings of hollow since its reemergence is a depressed area of land, especially a small valley, basin, or ravine (1553).

Hope
The Modern English topographic word hope comes from Middle English hope (13th century), from Old English hop (before 12th century). It is akin to Old English hype ("hip") and Greek kybos ("hollow area near the hip in cattle"). The word probably derives from a fancied resemblance between the topographic entity and the hollow formed by a hip.

In British dialect, hope denotes a broad, sometimes rounded upland valley, especially one leading up to mountain ranges (1378).

Lair
Modern English lair comes from Middle English lair (14th century), from Old English leger (before 12th century). The word is akin to Old High German legar ("bed") and Old English licgan ("to lie").

The original, now obsolete, meaning of lair is the action or fact of lying (before 1000). Another early sense, now dialectal in Great Britain, is a bed (before 1000).

The resting place of a wild animal, often a hollow in the earth, is a lair (1576).

Level
Modern English level comes from Middle English level ("plumb line," 14th century), from Middle French livel, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin libellum, an alteration of Latin libella, from the diminutive of libra ("weight, balance").

The original meaning of level is a device for establishing a horizontal line (1340).

A horizontal passage in a mine intended for regular working and transportation is a level (1721).
_____________________________

Encyclopaedia Britannica Ready Reference 2004. CD-ROM. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2006.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2007.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1989.