{{Short description|Narrow pathway or portal between houses}} [[File:Ginnel Cliff Ln - geograph.org.uk - 2724677.jpg|thumb|Leeds, England]] A '''ginnel''' is a word in various Scottish and northern English dialects<ref>{{cite web |url=https://useful_english.en-academic.com/424666/ginnel |title=ginnel |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias |access-date=8 November 2023 }}</ref> describing a fenced or walled alley between residential buildings that provides a pedestrian shortcut to nearby streets.<ref name = york>[https://yorkshiredictionary.york.ac.uk/words/ginnel Ginnel] Yorkshire Historical Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2022.</ref> Ginnels are typically found in suburban areas, and do not contain any business premises, unlike some other types of alley. Other related terms include '''snicket''', '''tenfoot''' and '''snickelway'''.<ref name =examiner>[https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/why-is-ginnel-in-yorkshire-17943622 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.</ref>
Suburban streets in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand similarly feature "'''cut-throughs'''", which are fenced or walled passages found between residential lots that grant pedestrians easy access to nearby facilities situated on other roads. These pedestrian walkways or portals may feature a nature strip and are generally secured by bollards to prevent vehicle access.<ref>[https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/396868/ds11_guardrails_fences_barriers.pdf DESIGN STANDARDS for URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, 11, FENCES, GUARDRAILS AND BARRIERS] Fences, Guardrails and Barriers, Urban Services. 2000. Retrieved 18 November 2022.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Reimagining pedestrian cut throughs and pedestrian streets |website=MRCagney Blog |author=Malcolm McCracken |date=8 July 2021 |publisher=MRCagney Pty Ltd |url=https://www.mrcagney.com/about/blog/reimagining-pedestrian-cut-throughs-and-pedestrian-streets/ |access-date=19 January 2026 }}</ref>
==Origins== [[File:Ginnel between Beechwood Rise and Dove Close, Wetherby (27th July 2019).jpg|thumb|Wetherby, England]] The earliest recorded use of the word was in 1613.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ginnel |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/ginnel_n?tab=factsheet#3073153 |website=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>
In 1744, pharmacist Arthur Jessop wrote a subpoena that mentioned Joseph Eastwood's wife in the "Ginnil" in the Low at Holmfirth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. A subdivision of the Taylor family was said to be of Ginnel in Meltham in 1774. In most works, there is no broad distinction drawn between ginnel and snicket, and the two have been used interchangeably.<ref name="ref1">Jones, Mark W. ''A Walk Around the Snickelways of York''</ref>
Both are described as north-country words for a narrow entrance between houses. However, in the Holme Valley, it has been said that a ginnel goes uphill and has setts whereas a snicket does not, and is surrounded by vegetation.<ref name =york/> "Ginnel" is a dialect word from Yorkshire, UK, which appeared in dialect dictionaries in the 19th century.<ref name =examiner/>
===Etymology=== The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that its etymology is vague, though it compares the word to 'channel' (including being a corruption of it),<ref name =examiner/> and says it is '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, unlike a ginnel. Furthermore, editors of some Yorkshire glossaries asserted a connection between ginnel and a Scandinavian word for 'mouth', on the analogy of an opening.<ref name =york/>
According to ''Collins English Dictionary'', a ''snicket'' is 'a passageway between walls or fences',<ref>[https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/snicket Definition of 'snicket'] Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2022.</ref> and a ''ginnel'' is 'a narrow passageway between or through buildings'.<ref>[https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ginnel Definition of 'ginnel'] Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2022.</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> Sydney alleyway.jpg |A "cut-through" in Western Sydney, Australia. Canberra Walkway.jpg|A walkway in Casula, Australia, bordered by fences and dense vegetation. Ginnel - geograph.org.uk - 2714614.jpg|A narrow, bricked ginnel in Leeds Ginnel, Town Street, Bramley, Leeds - geograph.org.uk - 4927284.jpg|A ginnel surrounded by English Ivy Ginnel off Saltburn Road, Brotton - geograph.org.uk - 163355.jpg|In Brotton Ginnel Grosvenor Mt to Cliff Ln - geograph.org.uk - 2724674.jpg Ginnel, end Cumberland Road, Hyde Park Leeds - geograph.org.uk - 2714575.jpg Ginnel between Crossley Street and Barleyfields Road, Wetherby (7th November 2015).JPG| Gorse Hill, ginnel - geograph.org.uk - 3792985.jpg Ginnel off All Saint's St - geograph.org.uk - 1776639.jpg </gallery>
==See also== *Pend *Vennel *Wynd *Easement *Cut-through driving
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Walking}}
Category:Alleys Category:Pedestrian infrastructure Category:Urban design Category:Psychogeography Category:English dialect words