A narrow passageway or alley between buildings, particularly common in Northern England and Yorkshire.
Possibly from 'gin' (an opening or passage) or from Middle English words meaning to go or open. The term is primarily dialectal to Northern England and has been documented since at least the 17th century.
This word is a perfect example of how British regional dialects preserve vocabulary that doesn't exist in standard English—Yorkshire and Lancashire still use 'ginnel' for alleyways while most of England uses other terms entirely.
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