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
When at last I crossed the divide, I had a horrible business getting down from one level to another in a gruesome corrie, where each step was composed of smooth boiler-plates.
From Mr. Standfast by Buchan, John
Yes—in a corrie, on the far side of Dearig, half-way up.
From The Atlantic Book of Modern Plays by Leonard, Sterling Andrus
Moving slowly toward the corrie, he stopped at a mountain ash which over hung a pool.
From The Divine Adventure Volume IV by Macleod, Fiona
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.
