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val

valley

noun VAL Rare
Travel & Places Geography

Origin: Latin 'vallis' (valley)

Usage Note

Val is a literary or archaic word for valley, mostly surviving in place names (le Val de Loire, le Val-d'Oise) and poetry. In everyday modern speech, une vallée is the standard term. The expression par monts et par vaux ('over hill and dale') preserves vaux, the archaic plural of val.

Examples

"Le val était couvert de brume au matin."

Natural Translation

The valley was covered in mist in the morning.

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