vlei
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Afrikaans vlei, from Dutch vallei (“valley”). Doublet of valley.
Pronunciation edit
- (General South African) IPA(key): /fleɪ/, /fliː/
- (UK) IPA(key): /fleɪ/, /vlʌɪ/
- (US) IPA(key): /vli/, /fli/, /fleɪ/
Noun edit
vlei (plural vleis)
- (Southern Africa) A shallow wetland or minor lake, generally a seasonal one, or the lowland where such a wetland appears seasonally.
- 1861, Charles John Andersson, Lake Ngami, chapter XXV, page 301:
- The country thereabout was a succession of vleys or gulleys, then filled with excellent clear water, teeming with water-fowl.
- 1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther, published 1974, page 59:
- She remembered the pleasurable warm smell of the cow droppings […] as if the four-divided stomachs of the great oxen were filled with nothing but concentrated memories of hours of grazing along the water heavy vleis.
- 2010, Jeremiah Allen, Namibia, Other Places Travel Guide, page 199:
- Although rare, it takes an unearthly amount of rain to fill the Tsauchab River and penetrate the dune area, bringing water into the vlei. During these rare times, the vlei takes on a life of its own, much different than in the absence of water […]
- (US regional) A wetland or marsh.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
shallow wetland or minor lake, especially a seasonal one
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wetland — see wetland
marsh — see marsh
Anagrams edit
Afrikaans edit
Etymology 1 edit
Noun edit
vlei (plural vleie)
Etymology 2 edit
Verb edit
vlei (present vlei, present participle vleiende, past participle gevlei)
Dutch edit
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
vlei
- inflection of vleien: