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gully

 - 6 dictionary results

gul⋅ly

1[guhl-ee] noun, plural -lies, verb, -lied, -ly⋅ing.
–noun
1. a small valley or ravine originally worn away by running water and serving as a drainageway after prolonged heavy rains.
2. a ditch or gutter.
3. Cricket.
a. the position of a fielder between point and slips.
b. the fielder occupying this position.
–verb (used with object)
4. to make gullies in.
5. to form (channels) by the action of water.
Also, gulley (for defs. 1,2).


Origin:
1530–40; appar. var. of gullet, with -y r. F -et


1. gulch, gorge, defile, watercourse.

gul⋅ly

2[guhl-ee, gool-ee]
–noun, plural -lies. Scot. and North England.
a knife, esp. a large kitchen or butcher knife.
Also, gulley.


Origin:
1575–85; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gul·ly 1   (gŭl'ē)   
n.   pl. gul·lies
A deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour.
v.   gul·lied, gul·ly·ing, gul·lies

v.   tr.
To wear a deep ditch or channel in.
v.   intr.
To form a deep ditch or channel.

[Perhaps alteration of Middle English golet, throat, channel; see gullet.]
gul·ly 2   (gŭl'ē)   
n.   pl. gul·lies Chiefly British
A large knife.

[Short for dialectal gully knife : gully (probably alteration of Middle English golet, throat; see gullet) + knife.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gully 
1538, possibly a variant of M.E. golet "water channel" (see gullet).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

gully

trench cut into land by the erosion of an accelerated stream of water. Various conditions make such erosion possible: the natural vegetation securing the soil may have been destroyed by human action, by fire, or by a climatic change; or an exceptional storm may send in torrents of water down the streambed. Gully erosion is closely related to intense local thunderstorms and not to widespread winter precipitation. Gullies in soft rock enlarge rapidly by headward erosion and may destroy much arable land if preventive measures are not taken.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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