Drainage ditch (rather than the Dutch version to keep water out) used to drain farmland in flood plains and the fens, especially in Lincolnshire. [K]
Any long narrow excavation dug to hold or transport water and by extension similar features that have been formed by natural forces e.g. the navigable channels of the Humber, Goole Dike and Doncaster Dike.
Etymology
Old English díc, which has also given “ditch”
Example locations
- Goole Dike
Tickhill, South Yorkshire
Entry contributors:
Kathlyn