water pitn.
/ˈwɔːtə pɪt/, U.S. /ˈwɔdər ˌpɪt/, /ˈwɑdər ˌpɪt/ 1. A pit of, or for, water; spec. (a) a well or hole sunk in the ground to procure water; (b) a pit for storing water; (c) a pit into which water or sewage is drained.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > well
water piteOE
wellOE
pitOE
pulkc1300
draw-wellc1410
draught-wellc1440
winchc1440
brine-well1594
salt spring1601
sump1680
pump well1699
spout-well1710
sump hole1754
pit-well1756
sink1804
bucket-well1813
artesian well1829
shallow well1877
dip-well1894
garland-well1897
village pump1925
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > natural reservoir
cisterna1616
costern1633
tank1678
reservoir1732
water pit1800
eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) Introd. xxii. 34 Gif hwa adelfe wæterpyt [L. cisternam] oððe betynedne ontyne & hine eft ne betyne, gelde swelc neat swelc ðær on befealle.
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) vii. 24 Ealle þa Egyptyscean dulfon wæterpittas neah ðam flode.
lOE Bounds (Sawyer 925) in A. R. Rumble Property & Piety Early Medieval Winchester (2002) 218 Swa andlang Wistenes gemere nygon wirda [read girda] ðet hit cymh [read cymþ] on þone wæterpyt.
c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 20 Þa wæs ðær wiðutæn þam wyrttune an waterput þe wæs to þam swiðlice bitter ðæt nan mon ne mihte anes dropæn ðærof anbyriæn.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 401 Þey come in fere unto a deep water pitte [c1400 Tiber. put; L. ad quendam aquosum puteum et profundum].
?1549 J. Hooper Declar. 10 Commandm. iv. p. l God..shal yeue the..howses furnyshyd withe all necessarys, whiche thow replenyshyds not, and water pittes that thow dyggyst not.
1660 A. Moore Compend. Hist. Turks 561 None could water his Horse at Danubius..; but must dig Water pits where they lay.
1720 Free-thinker No. 286 It was said, that the Peloponnesians had cast Poisons into the Water Pits.
1742 S. Lane Jrnl. 24 Feb. (1937) 29 Having made me a mean Water Pitt with Slabbs; I dare not put my hides in Soak Early, lest I should not get my Pitts ready timely for liming.
1800 Hull Advertiser 16 Aug. 1/2 The tan-yard comprises 2 large water pits.
1871 Sunday Mag. 1 Aug. 681/2 A few minutes later he found himself near the sump, or water-pit, looking up through the shaft wistfully to the faint light at the top.
1944 B. M. Bowen Strange Script. iv. 57 She selects two of the largest [broken pieces of pottery]: one she places by the side of the well or water pit; the other she takes home and places beneath the hearth.
1994 Winnipeg Homes Spring 76/1 Some areas will allow a septic field and a soak pit, or water pit, if ground conditions are suitable.
2013 C. Termeer Oil & Nat. Gas Explor. iv. 25 The water pit is usually just a widely dug out hole that holds water brought in by truck or pumped in by a nearby water well.
2. A cavity in the bed of a river, esp. one that retains water when the river runs dry. Cf. waterhole n. 1b, 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [noun] > pool as part of
weelc897
poolOE
dub1535
linn1577
potc1650
waterhole1688
plumbc1780
swimming hole1867
black hole1869
water pit1881
swilly-hole1890
swim-hole1924
1881 F. Oates Matabele-land ii. 24 A water-pit, sunk in the dry sandy bed of the river, was found for watering the oxen.
1920 E. Blunden Waggoner 19 The great pike lies..Watching the waterpit sheer-shelving dark.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.eOE