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Glite Dictionary
⛰️ Chalk grass hills 🌄 Of chalk hills
downland

downland

7.5
An area of open chalk hills covered in grass
  • noun
  • /ˈdaʊn.lənd/
  • UK
translation icon : tierra de colinas
  • The downland was alive with colorful wildflowers and grazing sheep during the warm spring months.

Examples

  • The hikers enjoyed a beautiful day walking along the lush grasslands of the downland in southern England.

  • This was how W.H. Hudson described the downlands in his seminal 1910 work A Shepherd's Life.

    Blog text (19)

  • Many artists find inspiration in the rolling hills of the downland, capturing its beauty in their paintings.

Synonyms

down
vsdownland
  • UK
7 8.6

A rolling treeless grassland often found in southern England

refers to chalk hills often covered with grass rather than just thin soiled uplands

How Hilly

mountain
∞ 1.0
highland
1 3.2
upland
1 5.1
downland
  • UK
7.5
lowland
4 3.2
plain
98 1.0

Surface Forms

downland singular
downlands plural

Morphology

downland = down + land (semi-transparent) = down + land

The compound directly combines 'down' (hill) and 'land', but 'down' as a noun meaning chalk hill is regionally specific and may be unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

Downland comes from old English dūn 'hill' and land 'land'. So it literally means 'hill land', which is why the word names open chalk hills that are often covered in grass.