dike
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
[edit] Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -aɪk
[edit] Etymology
Middle English (Northern) dik, dike, from Old Norse díki 'ditch, dike'. More at and doublet of ditch.
[edit] Noun
dike (plural dikes)
- (UK) The northern English form of ditch.
- A ditch and bank running alongside each other.
- A barrier of stone or earth used to hold back water and prevent flooding.
- 1891: (Can we date this quote?) Hale, Susan, Mexico, volume 27, The Story of the Nations, London: T. Fisher Unwin, page 100:
- The king of Texcuco advised the building of a great dike, so thick and strong as to keep out the water.
- 1891: (Can we date this quote?) Hale, Susan, Mexico, volume 27, The Story of the Nations, London: T. Fisher Unwin, page 100:
- (pejorative) A lesbian, especially a manly or unattractive lesbian.
- (geology) A body of once molten igneous rock that was injected into older rocks in a manner that crosses bedding planes.
[edit] Synonyms
- (barrier of stone or earth): bank, embankment, dam, levee, breakwater, floodwall, seawall
- (long, narrow excavation): ditch
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
a ditch and bank running alongside each other
barrier of stone or earth
lesbian — see dyke
[edit] See also
[edit] Verb
dike (third-person singular simple present dikes, present participle diking, simple past and past participle diked)
- To erect a dike.
[edit] Esperanto
[edit] Adverb
dike
[edit] Swedish
[edit] Noun
dike n.
- ditch; a small canal, for irrigation or drainage
- Han körde i diket med sin nya bil.
- He went off the road with (ditched) his new car.
- Han körde i diket med sin nya bil.
[edit] Declension
Declension of dike
[edit] Usage notes
- The phrase "köra i diket" (to ditch) is used also when there's no ditch.