head gate
- noun
- /hɛd ɡeɪt/
- Specialized
:
puerta de compuerta
- If a new head gate is not installed when a plot is subdivided, accessing water when it is needed may be difficult, especially if disputes arise.
Examples
-
On the NNSJRIS, Diné farmers do not request water but merely open their head gates and receive whatever water is flowing, and farmers close the head gates when they determine they have enough water.
Academic text (2018) -
The construction of a new head gate improved irrigation efficiency in the canal.
-
More head gates and a system of ditch bosses may be needed to improve water delivery frequency, flow rate, and duration flexibility.
Academic text (2018) -
The development of control gates, be they sluice gates or head gates, has a less than spectacular history.
Academic text (1995) -
Head gates are wooden or metal plates that hold back water in the canals until farmers raise the gates to allow water onto individual farms.
Academic text (2018) -
On the basis of existing evidence, the sluice-gate technology developed at Hierve el Agua evolved into head-gate technology.
Academic text (1995) -
Head gates are devices at the junction of perennial stream channels and irrigation canals that regulate the passage of water into a canal.
Academic text (1995) -
On the NNSJRIS, Diné farmers do not request water but merely open their head gates and receive whatever water is flowing, and farmers close the head gates when they determine they have enough water.
Academic text (2018) -
Since water delivery is not guaranteed, especially for those Diné farms that are located farthest from the irrigation head gates, many Diné farmers have abandoned farming.
Academic text (2018) -
Farmers use a head gate to control the flow of water into their fields.
Synonyms
5
4.0
A metal door that controls water flowing through a dam or channel
A gate that controls water flowing into a canal or field
A gate that opens and closes to let boats pass and control water in a canal
A gate that controls the flow of water in a channel
A gate that controls water flow in a canal
A gate or valve that controls water flow in dams and canals
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a movable gate at the entrance controlling water flow' is transparently compositional from 'head' (the source or upper end of a waterway) + 'gate' (a barrier). This follows a common noun–noun compounding pattern and is conceptually straightforward (and reflected in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Head gate gives a clear picture: a gate at the head, or start, of a canal that opens and closes to let water in or keep it out. That's why 'head gate' means a movable gate at the entrance that controls the flow of water.