culvert

Etymology

Origin obscure, with a number of possible etymologies suggested: # a dialectal word, # a word related to the name of the now-forgotten inventor, # a derivation from French couvert (“covered”), although couvert is not used in this sense and the French translation of culvert is ponceau or buse de drainage, # a derivation from an unrecorded Dutch word, possibly *coul-vaart, a combination of Dutch coul-, from French couler (“to flow”), and Dutch vaart (“a trip by boat, a canal”).

noun

1. A channel crossing under a road or railway for the draining of water.
   A raft of twigs stayed upon a stone, suddenly detached itself, and floated towards the culvert. 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room, Vintage Classics, paperback edition, page 91
   After she left, I ran away for a day, and hid myself, solitary, in a culvert under the railway lines. 1996, Janette Turner Hospital, Oyster, paperback edition, Virago Press, page 167

verb

1. To channel (a stream of water) through a culvert.
   This led to a great deal of straightening and culverting, which in turn led to a massive loss of biodiversity. 2020, Ben Aaronovitch, False Value, Gollancz, pages 234–235