brae

Brae is a noun in Scots English meaning a hillside or slope, typically the incline of a hill or the bank along a valley. In everyday usage it describes terrain oriented uphill from a valley or plain and is commonly found in descriptions of rural landscapes as well as in place names.

Etymology: The term brae is of Scots origin and has been part of Scottish toponymy for centuries. Its precise linguistic origin is not definitively settled, but the word is well established in Scottish English and related dialects.

Geography and toponymy: Brae is widely used in topographic descriptions across Scotland and parts of northern England. It also appears as a place-name element; for example, Brae is the name of a town on the Shetland Islands. The noun and the toponym share the same sense of hillside or slope.

Usage notes: In Scots dialects, brae contrasts with ben, which denotes a mountain, and refers specifically to a lower slope rather than a high peak. In modern usage, the term remains common in rural speech and is encountered in maps, road signs, and geographic descriptions in Scotland.