1. (Placename) an ancient town in N Ethiopia, in the Tigre region: capital of the Aksumite Empire (1st to 6th centuries ad)

2. (Placename) a former province of central Belgium; replaced in 1995 by the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant

3. (Placename) Bight of Bonny a wide bay at the E end of the Gulf of Guinea off the coasts of Nigeria and Cameroon

4. (Placename) a historical county of SW Scotland, formerly part of Strathclyde region (1975–96), now divided into the council areas of North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and East Ayrshire 2

5. (Placename) a former duchy of W Europe: divided when Belgium became independent (1830), the south forming the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Brabant and the north forming the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands 2

6. Francis Cotes (1726–1770), an English painter; George Cotes (?–1556), an English Catholic bishop; Merton Russell-Cotes (1835–1921), FRGS, a Mayor of Bournemouth, England; Roger Cotes (1682–1716), an English mathematician, colleague of Isaac Newton; Placename

7. A placename A hilly forested region between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany Ellipsis of Ardennes Forest / Ardenne Forest / Forest of Ardennes A range of hills in the Ardennes-Eiffel mountainous range One of the départements of Champagne-Ardenne, France (INSEE code 08)· Ellipsis of Battle of Ardennes or Battle of the Ardennes··Ardennes