snake bridge en · NOUN
Meanings
-
(UK, historical) A curved or spiral bridge over a canal designed to allow a horse towing a boat to cross the canal without detaching the towline; commonly found on British canals built during the Industrial Revolution to facilitate uninterrupted horse-drawn towing.
Holonyms: canal, navigation (waterway-system sense)
The snake bridge allowed the horse to cross the canal without unhitching the towline.
2003, Hadfield, Charles, British Canals: The Inland Waterways of Britain, page 112:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| snake bridges | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Hypernyms
canal bridge · infrastructure · bridge