aqueduct
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Adapted from the Latin aquaeductus (“conveyance of water”), from aqua (“water”) + dūcō (“I lead”, “I bring”); compare the French aqueduc.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈæk.wɪˌdʌkt/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈæk.wəˌdʌkt/
- (US, see note) IPA(key): /ˈɑk.wəˌdʌkt/
Audio (US) (file)
Usage notes[edit]
The newer IPA(key): /ˈɑk-/ pronunciation (prescriptive based on the Latin etymology) has been objected to by some commentators.[1]
Noun[edit]
aqueduct (plural aqueducts)
- An artificial channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another.
- A structure carrying water over a river or depression, especially in regards to ancient aqueducts.
- (anatomy) A structure conveying fluid, such as the cerebral aqueduct or vestibular aqueduct.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
an artificial channel conveying water
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a structure carrying water
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References[edit]
- ^ Charles Harrington Elster (2005), “aqueduct AK-wi̱-duhkt”, in The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker, second edition, New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 36:
- I wish I could state, as I did in the first edition of this book, that AK-wi̱-duhkt (AK- as in sack) is the only recognized pronunciation. Unfortunately, the editors of Encarta (2001) and NOA (2001) have been seduced by the popular, broad-a variant AH-kwuh-duhkt (AH- as in father), and they apparently were so taken with its pseudo-Latin charm that they didn’t merely list it; they listed it first. However, the latest editions of the other major current American dictionaries — WNW 4 (1999), American Heritage 4 (2000), RHWC (2001), and M-W 11 (2003) — continue to countenance only AK-kwi̱-duhkt, which has always been and still is the only cultivated pronunciation. / (In case you’re wondering, aqueduct begins with aque- instead of aqua- because it comes from the Latin aquae, the genitive of aqua, water.)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dewk-
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Anatomy