shadoof

American  

[shah-doof] / ʃɑˈduf /

Or shaduf

noun

1. a device used in Egypt and other Eastern countries for raising water, especially for irrigation, consisting of a long suspended rod with a bucket at one end and a weight at the other.

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shadoof British  

/ ʃəˈduːf /

noun

1. a mechanism for raising water, consisting of a pivoted pole with a bucket at one end and a counterweight at the other, esp as used in Egypt and the Near East

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Etymology

Origin of shadoof

First recorded in 1830–40, shadoof is from the Egyptian Arabic word shadūf

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shadoof

Steam, no doubt, is ultimately to drive out the shadoof, ancient as it is.

From Round the World by Carnegie, Andrew

The shadoof, or water-hoist, is patiently worked as it has been for thousands of years; while the cylindrical hoist employed in Lower Egypt was invented and introduced in Ptolemaic times.

From The Treasury of Ancient Egypt Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology by Weigall, Arthur E. P. B.

The camp of the "Forty Thieves" had been finished some time since: the gardens were flourishing, and I erected a "shadoof," or Egyptian double bucket and lever for irrigation.

From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir

There is also a double shadoof worked by two men, and even steam pumps are used in extreme cases where the volume of water desired is unusually large.

From Round the World by Carnegie, Andrew

This is the shadoof, the same which was used in the time of Moses.

From From Egypt to Japan by Field, Henry M. (Henry Martyn)