Irrigate
/ˈɪr.ɪ.ɡeɪt/noun
To supply land or crops with water by artificial means.
Did you know?Irrigate comes from Latin irrigare, literally “to water,” built from in- plus rigare, and that same ancient water-root also survives in words like rain and even the river-name Rhine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₃reyǵ-
“to moisten, wet”
Latin
Latin
rigāre
“to wet, moisten, water”
Latin
Latin
irrīgāre
“to water, to wet thoroughly”
Late Latin
Latin
irrīgātus
“watered, irrigated”
Middle English
English
irrigaten
“to water land artificially”
Modern English
English
irrigate
“to supply land with water artificially”