ditch en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /dɪt͡ʃ/
- (US) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *dīkaz Proto-West Germanic *dīk Old English dīċ Middle English dich English ditch From Middle English dich, from Old English dīċ (“trench, moat”) from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz (compare Swedish dike, Icelandic díki, West Frisian dyk (“dam”), Dutch dijk (“dam”), German Teich (“pond”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stick, set up”) (compare Latin fīgō (“to affix, fasten”), Lithuanian diegti (“to prick; plant”), dýgsti (“to geminate, grow”)). Doublet of dike.
Meanings
-
A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.
Digging ditches has long been considered one of the most demanding forms of manual labor.
Ditches continued to be employed as the sole defensive measure at many sites even after wall building began to emerge. For example, an immense ditch varying between 15 and 20 meters in width and marked by depths of 2.5 to 3.8 meters has recently been discovered in Hubei near Sui-chou.
2011, Ralph D. Sawyer, Ancient Chinese Warfare, Basic Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 30:The truck careered off the road into a ditch.
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(Ireland) A raised bank of earth and the hedgerow on top.
The original ditches were created by digging trenches, as boundaries and/or irrigation. But to the English, the ditch is the trench. Whereas in Ireland, the ditch is the raised bank of earth and the hedgerow on top. (As for the trench, where I come from that’s a sheugh).
2013 October 31, Frank McNally, “When Anglophone lines get crossed”, in The Irish Times, Dublin: Irish Times Trust, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2021:You flung a ditch on my vision Of beauty, love and truth. O stony grey soil of Monaghan You burgled my bank of youth!
c. 1947, Patrick Kavanagh, “Stony Grey Soil”, Poetry Selections, in Ireland Study Abroad, University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2021, page 1:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ditches | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
The Ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · across the ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditch stonecrop (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditch jewel (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · die in the last ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · bar ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditch day (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchfinder (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · itch the ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchdigging (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ding-dong ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · Ditchfield (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchlike (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchy (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · Black Ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditcher (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchdigger (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · Ditch Witch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchless (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · stitch in the ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · Quidditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · dead as ditch-water (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditch weed (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchside (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · snitches get stitches and wind up in ditches (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ox is in the ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · hurler on the ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchlet (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · last-ditch (Terms derived from the noun "ditch") · ditchwater (Terms derived from the noun "ditch")
Relateds
The Ditch · fosse · rhubarb · moat
Translations (164)
grc τάφρος (trench) · fa گودال (trench) · kmr cihok (trench) · it canale di scarico (trench) · it fossato (trench) · tab хандакӏ (trench) · it canale (trench) · alt ондук (trench) · ga díog (trench) · pdt Growen (trench) · arz خندق (trench) · es trinchera (trench) · es foso (trench) · gd clais (trench) · fr fossé (trench) · lo ຕະຄອງ (trench) · fi kanava (trench) · sk kanál (trench) · uk рів (trench) · kmr xendek (trench) · es zanja (trench) · nl sloot (trench) · el χαντάκι (trench) · gu ખાડો (trench) · sk jarok (trench) · sq hendek (trench) · ar قَنَال (trench) · sw handaki (trench) · kum канав (trench) · es surco (trench) · sl jarek (trench) · gl suco (trench) · sco sheuch (trench) · hy փոս (trench) · ar خَنْدَق (trench) · sh ја́рак (trench) · pt trincheira (trench) · el αυλάκι (trench) · cs příkop (trench) · km ប្រឡាយ (trench) · pt vala (trench) · vi mương (trench) · jv kalèn (trench) · lo ຄູ (trench) · la ēlix (trench) · kmr xendeq (trench) · ro șanț (trench) · zza hendeg (trench) · te అగడ్త (trench) · ca séquia (trench) · ru кана́ва (trench) · de Graben (trench) · as গাঁত (trench) · tl kanal (trench) · es acequia (trench) · av хандакъ (trench) · ar قَنَاة (trench) · ru ров (trench) · orv ровъ (trench) · he חֲפִיר (trench) · cmn 渠 (trench) · mi waikeri (trench) · da rende (trench) · la fossa (trench) · hi गड्ढा (trench) · is díki (trench) · as খাৱৈ (trench) · rif tarya (trench) · la scrobis (trench) · ota آرق (trench) · izh kanava (trench) · sl grapa (trench) · hi नाली (trench) · kum татавул (trench) · be кана́ва (trench) · fa فرگن (trench) · et kraav (trench) · es cuneta (trench) · ka თხრილი (trench) · mk ендек (trench) · el τάφρος (trench) · pt fosso (trench) · cmn 水溝 /水沟 (trench) · is gröftur (trench) · my မြောင်း (trench) · tg хандақ (trench) · rup fusati (trench) · hu sáncárok (trench) · ja 側溝 (trench) · sv dike (trench) · az xəndək (trench) · ota جدول (trench) · it trincea (trench) · bg кана́вка (trench) · an franxe (trench) · ru кюве́т (trench) · fr tranchée (trench) · cy ffos (trench) · pl rów (trench) · ckb خەندەک (trench) · vi hào (trench) · gl rego (trench) · th คู (trench) · ko 도랑 (trench) · is skurður (trench) · alt казынты (trench) · be траншэ́я (trench) · ar أُخْدُود (trench) · bg транше́я (trench) · gd dìg (trench) · sk priekopa (trench) · grc αὐλάκιον (trench) · fur fuesse (trench) · sh járak (trench) · ota خندق (trench) · rup hãndac (trench) · uk транше́я (trench) · lv grāvis (trench) · mk ров (trench) · ne खाई (trench) · it fosso (trench) · ka გუბი (trench) · hi खाई (trench) · bo ས་ཤུར (trench) · cmn 溝渠 /沟渠 (trench) · eo fluejo (trench) · rup avlachi (trench) · lt griovys (trench) · kum ханав (trench) · nb grøft (trench) · tr hendek (trench) · uz xandaq (trench) · fr rigole (trench) · vo söp (trench) · hy խրամ (trench) · la canālis (trench) · ckb خەندەق (trench) · lb Gruef (trench) · vi rãnh (trench) · ki mũkaro (trench) · kmr co (trench) · gl gabia (trench) · th คูน้ำ (trench) · it affossamento (trench) · be роў (trench) · ru транше́я (trench) · id parit (trench) · sh ро̏в (trench) · da grav (trench) · he תְּעָלָה (trench) · de Schanze (trench) · hu árok (trench) · uk кана́ва (trench) · cu ровъ (trench) · it canalone (trench) · is síki (trench) · fi oja (trench) · got 𐌲𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌰 (trench) · izh oja (trench) · ca rasa (trench) · is gröf (trench) · nl greppel (trench) · bg ров (trench) · sh rȍv (trench)