qanat

noun

qa·​nat kə-ˈnät 

ka-

plural qanats

: an underground aqueduct used (as in the Middle East) to convey water from a source (such as an aquifer) through the force of gravity especially for the purpose of irrigation

In Iran, qanats are still being constructed, and the thought came to wed the ancient qanat technology with that of modern drilling methods.

—Mahesh C. Chaturvedi

I first saw a qanat system in Turfan, a small town deep in the Gobi desert, thousands of miles from the nearest ocean but cradled in a depression below sea level.

—Martin Harwit

Examples of qanat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In Persia, many homes utilized a type of underground aqueduct called a qanat, in combination with a badgir (an Iranian wind-catcher), to keep their homes from overheating. —Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 July 2024

Her large-scale works reflect the desert of central Iran, and women there who conserve water, selling traditional crafts to maintain ancient, underground aqueducts called qanats. —Cate McQuaid, BostonGlobe.com, 3 May 2023

In fact, the qanat is still in use today. —Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Persian & Arabic; Persian qanāt, borrowed from Arabic qanāt-, qanāh "tube, duct, canal"

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined above