levee

Question

Is levee for river while seawall for sea and ocean? Is that the difference? How about embankment?Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

.
The first entry I found for 'levee' reads: 'a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea'.
The second one reads: 'an embankment designed to prevent the flooding of a river.'

I'm afraid to research 'sea wall'.

Avangi · Answer

New2grammarIs levee for river while seawall for sea and ocean? Is that the difference? That's always been my understanding, but I was surprised to hear a news report recently in which a sea wall was called a levee.

How about embankment? What about it? If I guess your question correctly, a seawall or a levee would be an embankment more often than an embankment would be a seawall or a levee.

I think of an embankment as being earthen and sloped. It could be miles from any water. When intended to keep out water, it would need to be reinforced in some way, against erosion.

I believe seawalls and levees are often constructed of reinforced concrete or timber and may have a vertical outer wall with earthen fill behind.

New2grammar · Answer

So, an embankment is a generic name for a levee or a sea wall? I should have asked, how are enbankment, levee and seawall related?

Avangi · Answer

I failed to make myself clear. To me, an embankment is like a berm, or mound of earth (or some other material). I don't see it as round in shape but elongated.

As children playing, a "bank" was any steeply sloped portion of a hill. "Let's slide down the sand bank." "Be careful not to fall down the bank." We used to "bank" our coal fires at night. I think of a river bank as the natural "wall" along the sides of the river.

I've often used "bank" and "embankment" interchangeably in referring to natural or man-made banks, but my dictionary seems to view an embankment as a bank with a purpose: a mound to hold back the water or to support a road. We hear of "berms" as mounds built for defensive emplacements in war fighting eg. in "Desert Storm."

My earlier intention was to suggest that an embankment is an elongated mound of earth, which may be used as a levee or seawall, but has many other purposes.

New2grammar · Answer

Avangi I don't see it as round in shape but elongated.

I'm going to ask a stupid question. What's the difference between round and elongated in this context. I know a ball is round and an egg is elongated. I think you are saying the height is elongated, right?

Avangi · Answer

New2grammar
Avangi I don't see it as round in shape but elongated.
I'm going to ask a stupid question. What's the difference between round and elongated in this context. I know a ball is round and an egg is elongated. I think you are saying the height is elongated, right?

An egg-shaped mound wouldn't hold back much water. The mound would be elongated along the axis of the river, to whatever extent was necessary or practical - perhaps for miles. The height might be the least of the three dimensions - certainly not the greatest.

New2grammar · Answer

Thanks, Avangi.

Avangi · Answer

Avangi
New2grammar How about embankment? What about it? If I guess your question correctly, a seawall or a levee would be an embankment more often than an embankment would be a seawall or a levee. I just noticed this is rediculous. The percentage of seawalls and levees which are embankments is greater than the percentage of embankments which are seawalls and levees. Sorry.

levee

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions