Benchland comes from bench (in the geological sense of a level terrace) + land, from Old English benc + land. The historical trail runs through benc in Old English and land in Old English. Morphologically, benchland is transparent: it draws on bench (in the geological sense of a level terrace) + land, from Old English benc + land. Used as a noun, benchland now means "a level terrace of land bounded by steeper slopes", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as bench and land. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.