Bunding

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Constructing a raised earthen wall or embankment around land to hold back water or contain liquid
2. The process of raising a low barrier of earth or stone to control water flow or enclose a field
3. Building a protective ridge or dyke that keeps water in or out of a particular area of ground

Etymology: Bunding is the verb form of "bund", a word with two unrelated lineages that happen to meet in English. The German "Bund" means "alliance" or "league", and English has borrowed it for a fortified embankment or waterside wall, most familiar from the Bund in Shanghai. A second, separate source is the Hindustani "band" or "bund", from Classical Persian "band", meaning a dam, dyke or barrier, which is also the root of "bandh", a Hindi word for a closure or stoppage. The two come from different languages but share a common meaning of holding something back. Bunding, then, is what you get when a bund is built or reinforced: the action of raising an embankment or wall to contain water or land. The German and Persian strands are doublets in the sense that they are related to words such as "bond" and "band", which all trace back to the idea of binding things together.

Synonyms: embankment, dike, levee