coulee etc.

[janilta]

Mike,

I am not sure whether the 'coulee's are similar in France and in
America. Probably not since the landscape is different...
Anyway, this is the same word, even if it describes different realities
perhaps... as, let's say, 'prairie' f ex...
No, I don't think there is any 'coulir' in French language (nor in Metis
French either, but there is 'coulis' I mentioned earlier)... As we
discussed before, 'couler' is 'to flow, run' and the 'flow' of the river
carves a 'coulee' apparently.
Everything's quite logical here.
Btw, 'coulee's final sound is 'ay' not 'ee' in French.
I did not know this 'couteau' thing (and ignore if the term exists in
French with the same meaning). I guess it is 'couteau' because it is 'as
sharp as a knife'...
'Couloir' as used in ski is another word even if it is probably built on
the same word root. As you probably know, 'couloir' is corridor and thus
lane.

Regards, Yann.