berm en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Dutch berm (“strip of roadside grass, verge”), probably via French berme, from Middle Dutch barm, baerm, barem (“verge, bank”), from Old Dutch *barm, from Proto-West Germanic *barm, from Proto-Germanic *barmaz (“edge, border, seam”).
Meanings
- A narrow ledge or shelf, as along the top or bottom of a slope.
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A raised bank or path, especially the bank of a canal opposite the towpath.
The big canals in Europe, in Holland, have a great big berm on the side of the canal several feet wide, which they leave there on purpose to plant reeds in, so as to get a reedy vegetation to protect their slope. Then, beyond that, there is an earthen slope that is grassed and sodded.
1910 February 23, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Protection of Watersheds of Navigable Streams, page 139:
- (Australia) One of the flat terraces on the slope of an open-pit mine.
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A terrace or shelf of sand along a beach, formed above the high tide water level by wave action.
On some beaches, the berm grows higher in summer and flattens out in the rougher winter seas.
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A long mound or bank of earth, used especially as a barrier or to provide insulation.
A berm separates the Moroccan-controlled and Polisario-controlled parts of Western Sahara.
- (Canada, US) A small wall along the edge of a bench of an open-pit mine, intended to prevent items falling over the crest.
- A ledge between the parapet and the moat in a fortification.
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(New-Zealand, Pennsylvania, qualifier:Indiana; Ohio; Indiana; Ohio) A strip of land between a street and sidewalk.
The sun soaked our street in hot yellow, and the berms were gasping for water.
2003, Emma Espiner, There’s a Cure for This: A Memoir, Penguin, page 15:
- (Pennsylvania, Western) The edge of a road.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| berms | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
Synonyms
tree belt · sidewalk strip · besidewalk · right-of-way · road allowance · sidewalk plot · windrow · parkstrip/park strip · nature strip · planter zone · island strip · parkrow · terrace · subway · tree lawn · sidewalk lawn · planting strip · bench · heelpath · swale · hellstrip · boulevard strip · easement · neutral ground · road verge · county strip · boulevard · street lawn · utility strip · parkway · parking · berm · parking strip · city easement · grassplot · curb strip · devil strip/devil's strip/devilstrip · grass bay · tree box · sidewalk buffer · mow strip · long acre · bench floor · curb lawn · extension lawn · roadside · median · landscape zone · furniture zone · drivestrip/drive strip · common · parkway strip · shoulder · verge
Translations (21)
sh berma (narrow ledge along the top or bottom of a slope) · sh berma (raised bank or path along canal) · fi törmä (narrow ledge along the top or bottom of a slope) · es arcén (strip of land between a street and sidewalk) · ru бе́рма (narrow ledge along the top or bottom of a slope) · fi valli (mound or bank of earth used as a barrier or to provide insulation) · it banchina (raised bank or path along canal) · sh berma (mound or bank of earth used as a barrier or to provide insulation) · de Bankett (raised bank or path along canal) · nl berm (strip of land between a street and sidewalk) · ca berma (terrace formed by wave action) · fi piennar (strip of land between a street and sidewalk) · fi valli (raised bank or path along canal) · es berma (strip of land between a street and sidewalk) · ca berma (narrow ledge along the top or bottom of a slope) · es acotamiento (strip of land between a street and sidewalk) · pl odsadzka (ledge between the parapet and the moat) · sh berma (strip of land between a street and sidewalk) · fi rantavalli (terrace formed by wave action) · fi töyräs (terrace formed by wave action) · ca berma (strip of land between a street and sidewalk)