Notch, Pass, Pit, Pocket, Race: Words Meaning Valley, Cave

Valleys, caves, related natural features, and human-made forms having similar topographic effects are known by many different words in English. In the current alphabetic series of such terms, the next examples are notch, pass, pit, pocket, and race.

Notch
Notch emerged in the 16th century, probably as a misdivision (mispronunciation) of an otch, from (assumed) otch, an English version of Middle French oche ("notch").

The original meaning of notch is a V-shaped indentation (1577).

A deep, narrow pass, especially through mountains, is called, because of its large V-like shape, a notch (1718).

Pass
The Modern English topographic noun pass comes from Middle English pass (14th century), from Middle French pas, from Latin passus, which derives from the verb pandere ("to spread").

A pass is any way or opening by which one may pass through a barrier or an obstructed region. In the early history of the word, beginning in, or just before, the 14th century, pass applied specifically to a path or a road in a forest, over a heath, or in a similar area where one was subject to ambush or robbery. Later, from the 16th century on, pass was extended to denote especially a low place or passage through a mountain range.

Pit
Modern English pit comes from Middle English pit (15th century), from Old English pytt (before 12th century), from Latin puteus ("well, pit").

Any hole or cavity in the ground, formed by either human digging or natural process, is a pit (9th century).

A mine created by human excavation specifically for seeking mineral substances is also a pit (10th century).

Pocket
Modern English pocket (16th century) comes from Middle English poket (14th century), from Old North French pokete, diminutive of poke ("bag"). The word is of Germanic origin and is akin to Old English pocca ("bag").

The original meaning of pocket is a small bag (14th century).

In mining, a pocket is a cavity containing a deposit of a specific substance, such as gold, gas, or water (1850).

A pocket is also a wide pitlike hollow in a canyon (1869), a deep glen or hollow among mountains (1885), and any piece of land surrounded on all sides by high ground (1897).

Race
Modern English race comes from Middle English race (14th century) and ras (13th century), from Old Norse ras. The word is akin to Old English raes ("rush").

One of the earliest meanings of race, now only in Scottish, is the act of running (14th century). The word developed many related senses, such as a strong water current (14th century).

Further extended, the word race denotes the bed, or course, of a stream. This use of the word applies in particular to an artificial channel leading water to or from a place where the energy of the water is utilized for industrial purposes, as in a mill or a mine (1565).
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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.