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acequia

acequia

1 9.9
A ditch run by the local community that carries water to fields
  • noun
  • /əˈseɪkiə/
  • US
translation icon : acequia
  • On the campus of Northern New Mexico Community College, in Española, a Monumento de Acequias is dedicated to acequias in honor of their significance in traditional Hispano culture.
  • acequia madre

Examples

  • Revealed is a joyful scene that celebrates everyday rural life along an acequia with water filled with fish and baskets full of crops waiting to be harvested.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The 5-by-7-foot half-sculpture, half-fountain is a stylized depiction of a man opening an acequia headgate, thus allowing water to flow over mud-cracked, parched earth.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Construction of community acequias began immediately after settlements were established.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Etched on the sides of the monument are words and phrases that remind visitors of the importance of acequias to the region's cultural heritage.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Roughly six blocks southeast of the New Mexico State Capitol is the city's old acequia madre (main, or mother, ditch).

    Academic text (2002)
  • There's quite a bit of reclamation of areas around the Rio Grande, and the acequias are becoming quite popular for bike paths.

    Blog text (7)
  • In urban Española and Santa Fe, local people have commissioned works of art that remind them of the role of acequias in Hispano culture.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I found four areas that show urban Hispanos' strong ties to rural areas: murals, mortuaries, music, and acequias (irrigation ditches).

    Academic text (2002)
  • Although the seasonal rhythm of ditch irrigation and the enduring cycles of planting and harvest seldom touch the lives of city-dwelling Hispanos, the importance of rural acequias has not been forgotten.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The community organized a festival to honor the acequia that has provided water for their crops for generations.

Synonyms

irrigation ditch
vsacequia
3 3.3

A narrow channel dug to bring water to fields for farming

is a traditional community managed form used in specific regions

How Big

aqueduct
18 6.3
canal
90 2.0
acequia
  • US
1 9.9
ditch
173 1.0

Surface Forms

acequia singular
acequias plural

Etymology

Acequia comes from Spanish and from Arabic al-saqiya, where al- means 'the' and saqiya means 'that gives water' or 'water channel'. So an acequia is a community-managed 'canal' or ditch that brings water to fields, which is why the word refers to traditional irrigation systems in Spain and the American Southwest.