leat

noun

ˈlēt

plural -s

dialectal, England

: an artificial water trench especially leading to or from a mill

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from (assumed) Middle English leet, from Old English gelǣt road junction, conduit; akin to Old High German gilāz road junction; both from a prehistoric West Germanic compound consisting of a prefix represented by Old English ge- (perfective, associative, and collective prefix) and a final constituent derived from the root of Old English lǣtan to let, leave, allow

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