Culvert

//ˈkʌlvə(ɹ)t// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A channel crossing under a road or railway for the draining of water.

    "A raft of twigs stayed upon a stone, suddenly detached itself, and floated towards the culvert."

  2. 2
    a transverse and totally enclosed drain under a road or railway wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To channel (a stream of water) through a culvert. intransitive, transitive

    "This led to a great deal of straightening and culverting, which in turn led to a massive loss of biodiversity."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Origin obscure, with a number of possible etymologies suggested: * a dialectal word, * a word related to the name of the now-forgotten inventor, * a derivation from French couvert (“covered”), although couvert is not used in this sense and the French translation of culvert is ponceau or buse de drainage, * a derivation from an unrecorded Dutch word, possibly *coul-vaart, a combination of Dutch coul-, from French couler (“to flow”), and Dutch vaart (“a trip by boat, a canal”).

Etymology 2

Origin obscure, with a number of possible etymologies suggested: * a dialectal word, * a word related to the name of the now-forgotten inventor, * a derivation from French couvert (“covered”), although couvert is not used in this sense and the French translation of culvert is ponceau or buse de drainage, * a derivation from an unrecorded Dutch word, possibly *coul-vaart, a combination of Dutch coul-, from French couler (“to flow”), and Dutch vaart (“a trip by boat, a canal”).

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