A Tunnel Was Named After a Barrel
A tunnel is an underground passage. The word comes from the French for a cask, because of the barrel-like curve of the roof.
A tunnel is a passage cut underground. The name comes from wine: Old French *tonnel* was a cask, a diminutive of *tonne*, a barrel, and the word transferred because a tunnel's arched roof is shaped like a barrel lying on its side. The first tunnel driven under a navigable river was Marc Brunel's Thames Tunnel, opened in 1843 after eighteen difficult years.
- An underground passage. *A rail tunnel.*
- A tube-shaped structure. *A wind tunnel.*
- Verb, to dig. *They tunnelled under the wall.*
- Tunnel vision — narrow focus. *Complete tunnel vision.*
- Light at the end of the tunnel — a sign of improvement. *Light at the end of the tunnel.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tunnel | A long tunnel. |
| Plural | tunnels | Service tunnels. |
| Verb | tunnel | Tunnel through. |
| Past (British) | tunnelled | They tunnelled out. |
| French root | tonne | A barrel. |
- The tunnel runs for eleven kilometres.Infrastructure.
- He has tunnel vision about the deadline.Figurative.
- They tunnelled out over six months.The verb.
How the Thames Tunnel was dug
- The tunnelling shield — invented by Marc Brunel, inspired by a shipworm boring through timber
- The worm lined its burrow as it went; the shield did the same with brickwork
- Flooded repeatedly during construction, with loss of life
- Opened in 1843 as a foot tunnel, and became a tourist attraction
- Still in use today, carrying the London Overground
Old French *tonel*, a cask, a diminutive of *tonne*, a barrel. English used it for a tube or funnel from the 1400s, and for an underground passage from the 1700s.
Why is a tunnel named after a barrel?
Because of the shape. An arched roof looks like the curve of a cask lying on its side.
What was the first tunnel under a river?
The Thames Tunnel in London, engineered by Marc Brunel with his son Isambard, opened in 1843.