physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

, a dell is a grassy hollow—or dried stream bed—often partially covered in trees. In literature, dells have

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

connotations, frequently imagined as secluded and pleasant safe havens. The word "dell" comes from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word ''dell'', which is related to the

word ''dæl'', modern 'dale'. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with the word "dingle", although "dingle" specifically refers to deep ravines or hollows that are embowered with trees. The terms have also been combined to form examples of tautological placenames in Dingle Dell, Kent, and Dingle Dell Reserve, Auckland.

In popular culture

* — Tolkien's fictional Elvish locale. *"

The Farmer in the Dell "The Farmer in the Dell" is a singing game, nursery rhyme, folksong, and children's song. It probably originated in Germany and was brought to America by immigrants.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Singing Game'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985) ...

" – an American folk song brought to United States by German immigrants. *" This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison" - A poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, makes reference to a dell in lines 5-10.

In popular culture

Related places in the United States

See also

References

External links