dike
pronunciation
How to pronounce dike in British English:
UK [daɪk]
How to pronounce dike in American English:
US [daɪk]
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- Noun:
- offensive terms for a lesbian who is noticeably masculine
- a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
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- Verb:
- enclose with a dike
Word Origin
- dike (n.)
- Old English dic "trench, ditch; an earthwork with a trench; moat," from Proto-Germanic *dik- (cognates: Old Norse diki "ditch, fishpond," Old Frisian dik "mound, dam," Middle Dutch dijc "mound, dam, pool," Dutch dijk "dam," German Deich "embankment"), from PIE root *dhigw- "to pierce; to fix, fasten" (cognates: Sanskrit dehi- "wall," Old Persian dida "wall, stronghold, fortress," Persian diz). At first "an excavation," later (late 15c.) applied to the resulting earth mound; a sense development paralleled by cognate forms in many other languages. This is the northern variant of the word that in the south of England yielded ditch (n.).
Example
- 1. Anybody seen lieutenant dike ?
- 2. Lieutenant dike said that ?
- 3. Bm is the little dutch boy and countrywide is the dike .
- 4. Fortunately , the flood did not break the dike .
- 5. This ancient shell dike was formed naturally through the changes of the ocean over thousands of years.it is of great scientific value .