water meadow

See also: watermeadow and water-meadow

English

Noun

water meadow (plural water meadows)

  1. (technical) An area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation or flooding in order to increase agricultural productivity.
  2. A low-lying area of grassland that by a river, which is subject to seasonal flooding.
    Synonym: flood meadow
    • 1967, J. A. Baker, The Peregrine, page 41:
      He was too vivid a mark, as he dazzled slowly across the green water-meadows.

Usage notes

In technical usage, a distinction is made between water-meadows and flood meadows or floodplain meadows. Flood meadows are naturally subject to seasonal flooding from a river,[1] whereas water meadows are artificially created and maintained, with flooding controlled[2] on a seasonal or even daily basis.

In lay usage however "water-meadow" may be used more loosely to mean any level grassland beside a river.

Translations

References
  1. Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014) “Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century”, in Nordic Journal of Botany, volume 32, number 6, pages 858–70
  2. Emma Rothero, Sophie Lake, David Gowing, editors (2016), “Floodplain Meadows Partnership”, in Floodplain Meadows – Beauty and Utility: A Technical Handbook‎, archived from the original on 2022-12-24
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