watershed

watershed

See also: water-shed

English

Etymology

From water +‎ shed, a calque of German Wasserscheide, a compound of Wasser (“water”) + scheiden (“to divide”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔːtəʃɛd/
• (US) enPR: wôʹtərshĕd, IPA^(key): /ˈwɔtɚʃɛd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: wa‧ter‧shed

Noun

watershed (plural watersheds)

1. (hydrology, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest.
2. (hydrology, US, Canada) A region of land within which water flows down into a specified body, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean; a drainage basin.
3. (figuratively) A critical point marking a change in course or development.
   • 2021 November 17, Anthony Lambert, “How do we grow the leisure market?”, in RAIL, number 944, page 34:

     Coronavirus has been a watershed for the railways. It has accelerated the decline of season tickets and reduced business travel after years of steadily rising passenger numbers.

   • 2023 February 7, Cade Metz; Karen Weise, “Microsoft Throws a Coming-Out Party for A.I.”, in The New York Times‎, ISSN 0362-4331:

     In a 2,000-word blog post published ahead of the press event, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, called this a “watershed year” and acknowledged the potential downsides, calling for “wide-ranging and deep conversations” on the issues.

4. (Canada, Britain) The time after which material of more adult nature (violence, swear words, sex) may be broadcast on television or radio, either one laid down by law or one contrived from convention (e.g. when children are not watching)

Synonyms

• (boundary between two adjacent catchment basins): water parting, drainage divide, water divide, divide
• (drainage basin): catchment basin, catchment, catchment area, drainage area, river basin, water basin
• (time after which adult material may be broadcast): safe harbor (US)
• (critical point marking a change in course or development): turning point, crossroads

Derived terms

• air shed
• cultureshed
• driveshed
• fibershed
• foodshed
• laborshed
• megashed
• subwatershed
• viewshed
• walkshed
• watershedding

 

Translations

boundary between adjacent catchment basins

Belarusian: вададзе́л m (vadadzjél), вадападзе́л m (vadapadzjél) Bulgarian: вододел (bg) m (vododel) Catalan: partió d'aigües f Czech: rozvodí (cs) n Danish: vanddeler c Dutch: waterscheiding (nl) f Esperanto: akvodislimo Finnish: vedenjakaja (fi) French: ligne de partage des eaux (fr) f German: Wasserscheide (de) f Greek: υδροκρίτης (el) m (ydrokrítis) Hebrew: קו פרשת המים‎ (he) m Icelandic: vatnaskil n Italian: spartiacque (it) m Kazakh: суайрық (suairyq) Macedonian: вододелница f (vododelnica) Malay: legeh (ms) Norwegian: Bokmål: vannskille n Nynorsk: vasskilje n Portuguese: divisor de águas m Russian: водоразде́л (ru) m (vodorazdél) Spanish: línea divisoria f Swedish: vattendelare (sv) Ukrainian: вододі́л m (vododíl)

drainage basin — see drainage basin

critical point marking a change in course or development

Bulgarian: повратна точка f (povratna točka) Catalan: punt decisiu m Danish: vendepunkt n Dutch: keerpunt (nl) m Finnish: vedenjakaja (fi) French: tournant décisif m German: Wendepunkt (de) m Hebrew: קו פרשת המים‎ (he) m Hungarian: vízválasztó (hu) Norwegian Bokmål: vendepunkt (no) n, veiskille n, vannskille n Portuguese: divisor de água m Russian: перело́мный моме́нт m (perelómnyj momént) Spanish: hito (es) m, momento decisivo m, punto crucial m, punto de inflexión (es) m Swedish: vattendelare (sv) c, vägskäl (sv) n, skiljeväg c

time after which adult material may be broadcast

Spanish: dos rombos m pl

Adjective

watershed (not comparable)

1. Serving to mark a significant development, change in direction, etc.
   • 2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 251:

     Green's Dictionary of Slang is a watershed publication in the annals of slang lexicography, being, beyond doubt, the most comprehensive scholarly dictionary of slang ever published.

Synonyms

• momentous

Anagrams

• draw sheet, drawsheet