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A ginnel is a fenced or walled
Yorkshire Historical Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2022. They are typically found in suburban areas, and do not contain any business premises unlike some other types of alley. Other terms include, snicket, tenfoot and snickleway.This is why a ginnel is called a ginnel in Yorkshire - according to the experts
By Danielle Hoe from Examiner Live. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
Definition of 'ginnel'
Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
A ginnel is a fenced or walled alley
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...
between residential buildings that provides a pedestrian shortcut to nearby streets.GinnelYorkshire Historical Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2022. They are typically found in suburban areas, and do not contain any business premises unlike some other types of alley. Other terms include, snicket, tenfoot and snickleway.This is why a ginnel is called a ginnel in Yorkshire - according to the experts
By Danielle Hoe from Examiner Live. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
Origins
In 1744, pharmacist Arthur Jessop wrote asubpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
that mentioned Joseph Eastwood's wife in the "Ginnil" in the Low at Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly cons ...
. A subdivision of the Taylor family was said to be of Ginnel in Meltham
Meltham is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Holme Valley, below Wessenden Moor, four and a half miles south-west of Huddersfield on the edge of the Peak District Na ...
in 1774. In most works, there is no broad distinction drawn between ginnel and snicket, and the two have been used interchangeably.Jones, Mark W. ''A Walk Around the Snickelways of York''
Both are described as north-country words for a narrow entrance between houses. However, in the Holme Valley
Holme Valley is a large civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 25,049 (2001 census), increasing to 34,680 for the two wards in the 2011 Census. Its administrative centre is in ...
, it has been said that a ginnel goes uphill and has setts whereas a snicket does not, and is surrounded by vegetation. "Ginnel" is a dialect word from Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, UK, which appeared in dialect dictionaries in the 19th century.
Etymology
The ''Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'' states that its etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
is vague, though it compares the word to ‘channel’ (in addition to being its corruption) and with a definition of "a long narrow passage between houses, either roofed or unroofed". In The English Dialect Dictionary it is differentiated with "entry", and is said to feature a roof
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of te ...
, unlike a ginnel. Furthermore, the editors of Yorkshire glossaries had asserted a connection between ginnel and a Scandinavian word for ‘mouth’, since the ginnel was originally an opening.
According to Collins Dictionary, the word ''snicket'' is defined as "a passageway between walls or fences" and ''ginnel'' is "a narrow passageway between or through buildings".Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
See also
*Vennel
A vennel is a passageway between the gables of two buildings which can in effect be a minor street in Scotland and the north east of England, particularly in the old centre of Durham.
Etymology
In Scotland, the term originated in royal burgh ...
* Wynd
*Easement
An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...
References
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