aqueduct

aqueduct

English

Alternative forms

• aquaeduct
• aquæduct (archaic)

Etymology

Adapted from the Latin aquaeductus (“conveyance of water”), from aqua (“water”) + dūcō (“I lead”, “I bring”); compare the French aqueduc.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæk.wɪˌdʌkt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæk.wəˌdʌkt/
• (US, see note) IPA^(key): /ˈɑk.wəˌdʌkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Usage notes

The newer IPA^(key): /ˈɑk-/ pronunciation (prescriptive based on the Latin etymology) has been objected to by some commentators.[1]

Noun

aqueduct (plural aqueducts)

1. An artificial channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another.
2. A structure carrying water over a river or depression, especially in regards to ancient aqueducts.
3. (anatomy) A structure conveying fluid, such as the cerebral aqueduct or vestibular aqueduct.

Derived terms

• aqueduct of Sylvius
• mesencephalic aqueduct
• Sylvian aqueduct

 

Translations

an artificial channel conveying water

Asturian: acueductu m Belarusian: акведу́к m (akvjedúk), аквэду́к m (akvedúk) (taraškievica) Catalan: aqüeducte (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 水渠 (zh) Czech: akvadukt (cs) m Danish: akvædukt c Dutch: aquaduct (nl) n Esperanto: akvedukto Finnish: akvedukti (fi) French: aqueduc (fr) m Galician: levada f, acueduto (gl) m German: Aquädukt (de) m Greek: υδραγωγείο (el) n (ydragogeío) Ancient: ὑδραγώγιον n (hudragṓgion), ὀχετός m (okhetós) Italian: acquedotto (it) m Japanese: 水道橋 (suidōkyō) Korean: 수도교 (sudogyo) Latin: aquaeductus (la) m Latvian: ūdensvads m, akvedukts m Lithuanian: akvedukas m Malay: akueduk Malayalam: നീർച്ചാൽ (ml) (nīṟccāl) Navajo: tó yaʼnidaʼaazgééd Old English: wætergelæt Polish: akwedukt (pl) m Portuguese: aqueduto (pt) m Quechua: witkhu, pincha Romanian: apeduct (ro) n Russian: акведу́к (ru) m (akvedúk) Serbo-Croatian: akvèdukt (sh) m, akvadȕkt (sh) m, vodovod (sh) Slovak: akvadukt m Spanish: acueducto (es) m Sundanese: ᮏᮜᮔ᮪ ᮎᮄ (jalan cai) Swedish: akvedukt (sv) c Tamil: தொட்டிப் பாலம் (toṭṭip pālam), தொட்டிப்பாலம் (toṭṭippālam) Thai: สะพานส่งน้ำ (sà-paan-sòng-náam) Turkish: su kemeri (tr) Ukrainian: акведу́к (uk) m (akvedúk) Volapük: kvaaduk Welsh: dyfrbont f, traphont ddŵr f

a structure carrying water

Asturian: acueductu m Catalan: aqüeducte (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 水道 (zh) (shuǐdào), 水路 (zh) (shuǐlù) Czech: akvadukt (cs) m Dutch: aquaduct (nl) n Finnish: akvedukti (fi) French: aqueduc (fr) m Galician: acueduto (gl) m German: Aquädukt (de) m Greek: υδραγωγείο (el) n (ydragogeío) Hebrew: אַמַּת מַיִם‎ (he) f (amát máyim) Italian: acquedotto (it) m Japanese: 水道 (ja) (すいどう, suidō) Korean: 수도 (ko) (sudo), 수로 (ko) (suro) Latin: aquaeductus (la) m Latvian: ūdensvads m, akvedukts m Malay: akueduk Norwegian: Bokmål: akvedukt (no) m Nynorsk: akvedukt m Old English: wætergelæt Polish: akwedukt (pl) m Portuguese: aqueduto (pt) m Romanian: apeduct (ro) n Russian: акведу́к (ru) m (akvedúk) Serbo-Croatian: akvèdukt (sh) m, akvadȕkt (sh) m, vodovod (sh) Spanish: acueducto (es) m Volapük: kvaaduk Welsh: pont cario dŵr, traphont

References

1. Charles Harrington Elster (2005), “aqueduct AK-wi̱-duhkt”, in The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker, second edition, New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 36:

   I wish I could state, as I did in the first edition of this book, that AK-wi̱-duhkt (AK- as in sack) is the only recognized pronunciation. Unfortunately, the editors of Encarta (2001) and NOA (2001) have been seduced by the popular, broad-a variant AH-kwuh-duhkt (AH- as in father), and they apparently were so taken with its pseudo-Latin charm that they didn’t merely list it; they listed it first. However, the latest editions of the other major current American dictionaries — WNW 4 (1999), American Heritage 4 (2000), RHWC (2001), and M-W 11 (2003) — continue to countenance only AK-kwi̱-duhkt, which has always been and still is the only cultivated pronunciation. / (In case you’re wondering, aqueduct begins with aque- instead of aqua- because it comes from the Latin aquae, the genitive of aqua, water.)