Deich

Meaning

dyke, dike; permanent dam

Concepts

dike

embankment

bank

🏦

seawall

levee

dyke

embankments

dig

dam

weir

sea wall

tide embankment

Synonyms

Damm

Wehr

Kai

Uferdamm

Eindämmung

Staumauer

Türflügel

Bollwerk

Hochwasserschutzwall

Erdwall

Fensterflügel

schlagend

Staudamm

Pronounced as (IPA)

/daɪ̯ç/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: dijk

Cognate with Western Frisian: dyk

In summary

Originally the same word as Teich (“pond”). The sense “dike” spread via Low German, for which reason the form Deich is most often regarded as an artificial adaptation of Middle Low German dīk (“dike”) to the phonetic system of standard German. However, Deich is also the form natively developed in West Central German and it does mean “dike, dam, weir system” in most dialects of the Rhineland, particularly along the Lower Rhine. The supposition of an artificial adaptation is therefore possible but not inevitable. Cognate to Dutch dijk and West Frisian dyk.