water back
1
8.9
- noun
- Archaic
:
calentador de agua
- She explained how the water back heats water efficiently for the home.
Examples
-
We decided to replace the old water back with a more energy-efficient model.
-
You want a water back for that?
-
The plumber installed a new water back to provide hot water for the kitchen.
Synonyms
28
1.8
A machine that heats and keeps hot water for a home or building
5
3.0
A machine that heats and stores water for a house or building
1
2.4
A container that heats and holds hot water for a building
Surface Forms
Morphology
The parts 'water' and 'back' transparently signal a water-related object located at the rear, so a learner could guess a relation of water + back. However, the precise sense ‘a heater/tank installed at the back of a stove or fireplace’ is specialised and not strictly predictable from the constituents or common compositional patterns, so it requires prior exposure or technical knowledge.
Etymology
Water back comes from old stoves where a tank or pipes of water sat at the back of the stove or fireplace and were warmed by the fire. Because the water was literally at the 'back' and used to make hot water, the name came to mean 'a water heater' attached to the stove.