A mountain pass or the lowest point between two peaks on a ridge.
From French 'col' meaning 'neck', from Latin 'collum'. The geographical sense developed because mountain passes resemble the narrow neck connecting two higher elevations, like a neck connects a head to a body.
Mountaineers and cartographers love the precision of 'col' - it specifically describes that saddle-shaped dip between peaks where travelers can cross mountain ranges. Many famous Alpine passes like the Col du Mont Cenis have this word right in their names, preserving the French geographic terminology!
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