acequia
Americannoun
-
acequias
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of acequia
1835–45, < Spanish < Arabic al-sāqiyah the irrigation ditch
Explanation
An acequia is a trench that's used to irrigate farmland. Acequias are common throughout the Americas, from Argentina to Colorado. The Spanish word acequia has an Arabic root, al-sāqiyah, "one that bears water." In parts of Mexico and Spain, irrigation canals have long been known as acequias. These watercourses, and the Spanish word for them, spread into parts of the U.S. that were once Spanish colonies. Some acequias still functioning today in Colorado and New Mexico were dug more than 400 years ago.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He turned a wheel that opened an acequia and flooded the field with clear, cold water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
Another $15 million in state capital funds have been earmarked for acequia projects since 2018.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2021
Once an acequia commissioner and now a U.S. congresswoman, Leger Fernández knows how hard it is to tell farmers they won’t get all the water they need — or maybe none at all.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2021
Even then, the acequia reflected the blending of cultural traditions.
From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2021
He came to where I stood directing the waters of the acequia down the rows of corn.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
We passed over acequias — a system of communal irrigation ditches originating with the Moors that New Mexico’s farmers have used for centuries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
Growing up in New Mexico, Hayes-Rich played and swam in centuries-old irrigation systems known as acequias, built by Indigenous Pueblo people and Spanish settlers, that flow beneath the U.S.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 19, 2023
New Mexico lawmakers also are considering legislation this year that would provide a funding stream for acequias in case of another natural disaster, given that the groups have limited resources due to their grassroots nature.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2023
"I've lived here all my life. I've never seen it run dry," said Theresa Dunworth, an accountant who works with a farm group in the South Valley where centuries-old "acequias" or channels irrigate fields.
From Reuters ● Nov. 1, 2022
The Mission was arranged in a great quadrangle fifty-four by 154 yards with acequias or irrigation ditches both to front and rear.
From Through Our Unknown Southwest by Agnes C. (Agnes Christina) Laut
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
