cluse
/kluz/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.52 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A defile or narrow gorge, especially one that cuts transversely through the rock of an otherwise continuous ridge.
Example Sentences
- "[...] others are bounded by the steep walls of the cluses, these being the most picturesque; others, again, occupy the combes referred to above."
- "Penck states that many a cluse in the Jura may have been formed by subterranean streams widening their channels until the covering broke down and their subterranean valleys became exposed[…]"
- "[…] narrow cluses still exist. The distinctive nature of the geomorphic forms of the Jura is indicated by the fact that each such item is identified locally by a particular term."
- "[…] cut by the wadis of the Atlas which gave birth to very steep cluses (Lechhab 1991)."
Etymology
In many cases, italicized as a borrowing of French cluse. In Early Modern texts, possibly a continuation of Middle English cluse, Old English clūse (“narrow pass”).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: cluse