acequia

American  

[uh-sey-kyuh, ah-se-kyah] / əˈseɪ kyə, ɑˈsɛ kyɑ /

noun

Southwestern U.S.

PLURAL

acequias

1. an irrigation ditch.

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Etymology

Origin of acequia

1835–45, < Spanish < Arabic al-sāqiyah the irrigation ditch

Example Sentences

We passed over acequias — a system of communal irrigation ditches originating with the Moors that New Mexico’s farmers have used for centuries.

From Los Angeles Times

Growing up in New Mexico, Hayes-Rich played and swam in centuries-old irrigation systems known as acequias, built by Indigenous Pueblo people and Spanish settlers, that flow beneath the U.S.

From Science Magazine

There are about dozen more acequias on the list.

From Seattle Times

Also layered on the landscape are historic Spanish land grants, large ranches, traditional irrigation systems known as acequias, and moradas, which are meeting spaces for a religious brotherhood known as penitentes.

From Seattle Times

Garcia, the executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, a nonprofit that works to protect the state’s 700 or so acequias, or irrigation ditches, said she attributed her community’s persistence to “pure grit.”

From Seattle Times