Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Cumberland Gap

Cumberland Gap

6.8
A mountain pass between Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee used by early settlers to travel west
  • proper noun
  • /ˈkʌmbərlənd ɡæp/
translation icon : Cumberland Gap
  • The pioneers traveled through the Cumberland Gap on their way west.

Examples

  • Today, tourists flock to the Cumberland Gap to explore its rich history and beautiful hiking trails.

  • As we traveled through the Appalachian Mountains, we couldn't miss the stunning views from the Cumberland Gap.

  • Early pioneers traveled through the Cumberland Gap to settle in Kentucky.

  • The Cumberland Gap played a crucial role in the westward expansion of the United States.

  • We visited the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on our summer road trip.

  • Have you ever visited the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park?

  • The Cumberland Gap was a crucial route for settlers moving westward during the early days of America.

Surface Forms

Cumberland Gap main

Morphology

Cumberland + gap

The word 'gap' transparently signals a physical pass or opening, so a learner who knows 'gap' would infer this is a kind of pass. However, 'Cumberland' is a proper name with no descriptive meaning for most learners, so the specific geographic referent and historical sense are not derivable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Cumberland Gap is simply a low opening in the mountains, a natural break that people could pass through. Early settlers used the gap as an easy 'route west', so the name now means the mountain pass and the important road people used to move west.