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''Siepen'', ''Siefen'', ''Seifen'' or ''Seipen'' are typical regional words used in northwestern Germany for what are often narrow, wet, ravine-like V-shaped valleys of the German Central Uplands with their small headstreams. In the south German region, such valley forms are usually called '' Klingen.''
These words often form a part of placenames especially in the area from the centralz. B. in Herne, vergl. and southern Ruhrgebiet southwards as far as southern Westphalia (
The word is derived from the Middle Low German word ''sîpe'' "wet depression" or "little stream, brook", the verb ''sîpen'' means "trickle, drip". Grammatically ''siepen'' has a neuter or masculine gender.
The word forms ''Siefen'' and ''Seif'' are common in the Franconian and 
The word also refers to the wet meadow valleys which result, with their steep hillsides. The name of the Siebengebirge hills may possibly have the root ''Siepen''. In the Solinger Platt dialect the word ''siepenaat'' means "completely wet through".
In East Westphalian
List of roads containing the word ''Siepen'' and their geographical distribution
Fluvial landforms
''Siepen'', ''Siefen'', ''Seifen'' or ''Seipen'' are typical regional words used in northwestern Germany for what are often narrow, wet, ravine-like V-shaped valleys of the German Central Uplands with their small headstreams. In the south German region, such valley forms are usually called '' Klingen.''
These words often form a part of placenames especially in the area from the centralz. B. in Herne, vergl. and southern Ruhrgebiet southwards as far as southern Westphalia (Sauerland
The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.
The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...
), as well as in the adjacent regions of Bergisches Land, Siegerland
The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen (now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoin ...
and southern Rhineland. In North Hesse the term is found in the old Lower Saxon dialect area in the counties of Waldeck-Frankenberg to Korbach and Bad Arolsen.
The word is derived from the Middle Low German word ''sîpe'' "wet depression" or "little stream, brook", the verb ''sîpen'' means "trickle, drip". Grammatically ''siepen'' has a neuter or masculine gender.
The word forms ''Siefen'' and ''Seif'' are common in the Franconian and Hessian
A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse.
Hessian may also refer to:
Named from the toponym
*Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire
**Hessian (boot), a style of boot
**Hessian f ...
region.Julius Leithäuser: ''Ortsnamen im Wuppergebiete.'' In: ''Zeitschrift des Bergischen Geschichtsvereins.'' Vol. 34, 1898/1899, pp. 97–122, here p. 102. The form ''-siepen'' (with a ''p'') as part of the name of waterbodies or places is, by contrast, mainly found in the northern Bergisches Land as far as south Westphalia. The difference in spelling reflects dialect differences which arose as a result of a strong phonetic shift; the region in which this occurs is where the dialect boundary of the so-called Rhenish Fan runs.
The headstreams in the valley do not carry water all year round; but have nonetheless carved out the V-shaped valley. In the post-glacial period the quantities of water flowing out of the Central Uplands were greater, so that the streams were able to cut down more strongly into the terrain than they are today.
The word also refers to the wet meadow valleys which result, with their steep hillsides. The name of the Siebengebirge hills may possibly have the root ''Siepen''. In the Solinger Platt dialect the word ''siepenaat'' means "completely wet through".
In East Westphalian Ravensberger Land
Ravensberg Land (german: Ravensberger Land) is a cultural landscape in the district of Ostwestfalen-Lippe in the northeast of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It lies between the Wiehen Hills to the north, the Teutoburg Forest ...
and in Lipperland such landforms are known as '' Sieks''. But after land amelioration
Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as:
* Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing
* Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose o ...
for agriculture, they usually have a trough-shape today. It is possible that there is an etymological relationship between the Middle Low German term for a similar fluvial landform, ''sike'' , and the word ''Siepen''. {{Digitalisat, 1=http://drw-www.adw.uni-heidelberg.de/drw-cgi/zeige?index=buecher&term=schiller-luebben+iv&seite=g206-207
References
External links
List of roads containing the word ''Siepen'' and their geographical distribution
Fluvial landforms