ginnel meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

ginnel

noun

UK /ˈɡɪnəl/

Etymology From dialectal ginn (“a road or passage down to the sea”) + -el (diminutive suffix), ultimately from Old English gin (“an opening, gap, abyss”) or Old Norse gin (“throat, gullet, maw”), both from Proto-Germanic *giną (“throat, gullet”).

England, Yorkshire, Especially A narrow passageway or alley often between terraced houses.

Lancashire; Manchester; Lancashire; Manchester

[…]maks things as pleasant as stondin in a ginnel ov a wyndy neet waitin o'th' sweetheart comin out.1885, Benjamin Brierley, Ab-o'th'-Yate in Yankeeland, page 59:
At the end of a short side-street a narrow ginnel with concrete bollards led into the surprisingly wide area in which the blocks of flats stood.1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 169:

1 more example

Pssht, get over here, whoopie / Finish him like Sub-Zero / Out the window, into the garden / Over the fence and straight through the ginnel2014 September 7, “Spitfire”, Aaron Davis (lyrics), performed by Davis, Aaron [as Bugzy Malone], JDZ Media:

Synonyms: ennog, snicket, twitchel
Derived terms: snickelway