User Contributed Dictionary
Pronunciation
- (UK) /stræθ/
- Rhymes: -æθ
Noun
- A wide, flat river valley.
Derived terms
See also
Extensive Definition
A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley
that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen which is typically narrower
and deep).
An anglicisation of the Gaelic
word srath, it is one of many that are have been absorbed into
common use in the English
language. It is commonly used in the Scottish
Highlands to describe a wide valley, even by non-Gaelic
speakers. Historically however, it has had a wider range, for
example Nithsdale in the
far south was originally "Stranit".
It occurs in numerous Scottish place
names (such as Strathspey
and Strathclyde),
Strath-Taieri
in New
Zealand, Strathfield, a
suburb of Sydney, Australia, and Strathmore,
Alberta in Canada.
It also occurs in the names of four P&O liners that
brought thousands of migrants to Australia between
the 1950s and the 1950s: the Strathhaird, the Strathnaver, the
Stratheden and the Strathmore. The ships also acted as troop
carriers during WW2.