acequia

noun

ace·​quia ə-ˈsā-kē-ə How to pronounce acequia (audio)
ä-
Synonyms of acequianext
Southwestern US
: an irrigation ditch or canal

Examples of acequia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Thursday At 1pm, head to Mission San Juan for a free immersive agricultural tour and an acequia demonstration. — Megan Stringer, Axios, 5 Sep. 2024 But the biggest challenge to saving acequias may be preserving the age-old knowledge behind their existence. — Constant Méheut, New York Times, 19 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish, borrowed from Arabic al-sāqiya, from al, definite article (here as- by assimilation to the following s) + sāqiya "irrigation ditch," from feminine active participle of saqā "to give to drink, irrigate"

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of acequia was in 1811

Browse Nearby Words

acepots
acequia
Acer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Acequia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acequia. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on acequia

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for acequia

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All