Waterlogging

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition where an area becomes overly saturated with water, negatively affecting vegetation, arises from a lack of effective drainage measures
2. A situation characterized by excessive accumulation of water in soil, which impairs plant health and is often caused by insufficient drainage systems
3. A phenomenon that occurs when soil becomes excessively saturated with water, leading to detrimental effects on plant growth and typically resulting from poor drainage practices

Etymology: Waterlogging is built from two plain English words: "water" and "log." The "log" here is not the piece of timber but the verb meaning to make something heavy and unwieldy, as a log is heavy when soaked. "Waterlog" therefore describes a thing weighed down and made sodden by water, and the older sense of "log" as something that sinks under its own weight is what gives the image its force. The verb "waterlog" is a compound of "water" and "log," and "waterlogging" is the form that names the process or condition. Used of land, it describes soil so saturated that the air spaces are filled, leaving plants starved of oxygen. The word carries the same picture of heaviness as its parts, so a field that has gone under is simply a field that has been made to sink into its own water.

Synonyms: flooding, saturation