In the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

of eastern United States, a vlaie, vly or fly is a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

. It also applies to creeks and areas in the vicinities. The term appears in place names in areas of Dutch influence, formerly

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

Etymology

The terms are from a

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

al form of the

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...

word ' ("

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

", spelled ' in

Modern Dutch Modern Dutch ( ) is the term for variety of Dutch spoken and written since around the 1500s, this is to distinguish it from the previous phases of the languages, Middle Dutch and Old Dutch. The term Early Modern Dutch has been applied to the Dut ...

). Unabridged : "from obsolete Dutch dialect (Hudson valley) ''vlei'', from Middle Dutch ''valeye''" However, the meaning shifted to "

" when used by

New Netherlander New Netherlanders were residents of New Netherland, the seventeenth-century colonial outpost of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the northeastern coast of North America, centered around New York Harbor, the Hudson Valley, and ...

s. Variants such as ''vley'' and ''vlei'' are also found. The English spelling of ''vleigh'' is probably under influence of rhymes like ''sleigh'' and ''weigh''. The

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

word ' ("shallow lake") is a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

, descended from the same Middle Dutch word. The ''

Vlie The Vlie or Vliestroom () is the seaway between the Dutch islands of Vlieland, to its southwest, and Terschelling, to its northeast. The Vlie was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times. Today it's still possible to reach the port of ...

'', a channel in

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

, may not be related, as it is likely from the Latin '' Flevo''.

Place names

Examples of names of swamps, streams, lakes, and mountains which contain ''vlaie'' or other variant spellings:

New York

; ''V'': *

Franklinton Vlaie Franklinton Vlaie or "The Vlaie" is a tributary of Catskill Creek in Broome, Schoharie County, New York in the United States. Vlaie In the Hudson Valley of eastern United States, a vlaie, vly or fly is a swamp or marsh. It also applies to ...

: a swamp in Schoharie County which feeds the

Catskill Creek Catskill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hudson River that drains the northeastern Catskill Mountains of the U.S. State of N ...

. * The Vlaie: the area surrounding the Franklington Vlaie. *

Vly Mountain Vly Mountain is a mountain located in the town of Halcott, New York, United States in Greene County. The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains. Vly Mountain is flanked to the northwest by Bearpen Mountain, to the east by Vinegar Hill, to ...

, one of the

Catskill High Peaks The Catskill High Peaks are all of the mountains in New York's Catskill Mountains above in elevation whose summits are separated either by ''or'' a vertical drop of at least between it and the next nearest separate summit. By usual standards ...

, in Greene County. *Gayhead Vly: a swamp in Greene County near Leeds. *Great Vly: a swamp in Greene County which feeds the

Sawyer Kill The Sawyer Kill or Sawyer's Kill is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary stream of the Hudson River in New York state. The source is at the Great ...

. *Vly Creek: a stream in Delaware County. *Vly Creek: a stream in Albany County. *The Vly: an upland area in Marbletown, Ulster County. *Vly Road: a road in Albany County. *Vleigh Place: a street in

Kew Gardens Hills Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Interstate 495 (New York), Union Turnpike to the south ...

in Queens County. *Vly Swamp: a swamp in Ulster County. *Consalus Vly: a swamp in Saratoga County. *Ireland Vly: previously a swamp in Saratoga County, now a reservoir. *Miner Mill Vly: a beaver flow in Saratoga County. *Burnt Vly: a swamp in Fulton County near Stratford. *Racker Vly: a beaver flow in Fulton County. *Fifteen typonyms for swamps in Hamilton County. ; ''F'' : *Fly Creek, Fly Summit, and Fly Swamp (also known as Vly Creek, Vly Summit, and Vly Swamp), Washington County. * Fly Creek: A creek in Otsego County, New York. *

Fly Market The Fly Market or Fly Market was an outdoor market located at the base of Maiden Lane, near the East River in Manhattan, New York City. Operating from 1699 to the early 1800s, the market sold meat, country produce and fish under its covered roofs. ...

in New York City: may be the source of ''

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

''. *Fly Creek, Fly Pond, and Fly Brook in Broome County. *Fly Swamp, or Vly Swamp, or "The Vly": a swamp in Washington County. *The Fly: a swamp in Taborton, Rensselaer County. *The Fly: a swamp in Otsego County. *Rossman Fly: another name for Rossman Pond. Also Rossman Fly Road. *The Old Fly: a swamp in Washington County. *Shaw Fly: a swamp in Washington County.

New Jersey

*Bog and Vly Meadows: a swamp in

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

. *The town of

Tenafly Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,409, an increase of 921 (+6.4%) from the 2010 census count of 14,488, which in turn reflected an ...

(literally "ten swamps") *

Burnt Fly Bog The Burnt Fly Bog Superfund Site is located in Marlboro Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Contamination began in the 1950s and 1960s. It was used as a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals and oils. This site was used to reprocess or recyc ...

: a swamp on the border of Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, New Jersey. *Polifly (meaning "top of the meadow/atop the swamp"), the name by which Hasbrouck Heights was known during the colonial period., Polifly Road is a major thoroughfare connecting Hackensack and Hasbrouck Heights.

Out of use

*Sacandaga Vlaie: marshland now flooded by the

Great Sacandaga Lake The Great Sacandaga Lake (formerly the Sacandaga Reservoir) is a large lake in the Adirondack Park in northern New York in the United States. The lake has a surface area of about at capacity, and the length is about . The word ''Sacandaga'' me ...

by the building of the

Conklingville Dam The Conklingville Dam, in Hadley, Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United S ...

. *The Vlaie or "Great Marsh": south of Oneida Lake in

Madison County, New York Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,016. Its county seat is Wampsville. The county is named after James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and was ...

. Also known as Canaseraga Lake and was more than fifteen thousand acres before it was drained by pioneers in the 1800s by the digging of the Douglass Ditch to

Lake Oneida Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River, which flows into Lake Ontar ...

. *Head of the Fly: is the area in southern Flushing, Queens, New York, Historical Map Collection
1853 Map of Flushing
/ref> now known as Kew Gardens Hills. A road through the neighborhood, is still called Vleigh Place.

References

{{reflist New Netherland

Vlaie In the Hudson Valley of eastern United States, a vlaie, vly or fly is a swamp or marsh. It also applies to creeks and areas in the vicinities. The term appears in place names in areas of Dutch influence, formerly New Netherland. Etymology The ...