corrie
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of corrie
First recorded in 1785–95, corrie is from the Scots Gaelic word coire cauldron, whirlpool, hollow
Explanation
A corrie is a bowl-shaped indentation in the side or top of a mountain. Corries are formed by glaciers, and they often turn into small lakes over time as they fill with water. Another name for a corrie is a cirque. These landforms are commonly described as "natural amphitheaters," based on their round, concave shape. It takes glacial ice flowing in different directions to gradually carve a corrie from mountain rock. The deep basin then catches any melting water and forms a lake known as a tarn. Corrie comes from the Scottish Gaelic coire, "pot or cauldron."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Sphinx lies in Garbh Choire Mor, a hollow known as a corrie formed by ice or a glacier during the last ice age.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2022
After following a five-pointer stag for over four hours, they had it trapped in a corrie.
From Time Magazine Archive
Perchance I'll find His whip that drives the clouds o'er the fells, And cracks in the corrie, like short, sharp bells.
From The Dales of Arcady by Ratcliffe, Dorothy Una
That’s right, Dan—keep away up by the slate corrie, and come down by the red tarn.
From Freaks on the Fells Three Months' Rustication by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
Henchmen, waiting for the signal, At their chiefs imperious word Start, to drive from hill and corrie To the pass the watchful herd.
From Memories of Canada and Scotland — Speeches and Verses by Campbell, John Douglas Sutherland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
