Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A filling for a ditch, composed of stones thrown in without regularity, and covered with earth or clay to afford a smooth upper surface.
Etymologies
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Examples
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reesetee commented on the word pierelle
(Obsolete) A heap of stones filling a ditch.
April 11, 2008
yarb commented on the word pierelle
Gosh, I wonder why this is obsolete.
April 11, 2008
mollusque commented on the word pierelle
In English "pierelle" seems to exist only in dictionaries. OED2 lists it as obsolete, with the only citation from another dictionary. Other than that, a Google Books search found it in the Century Dictionary CDC1 and a couple of mining glossaries.
April 12, 2008
reesetee commented on the word pierelle
Thanks, mollusque. You beat me to it.
April 12, 2008
bilby commented on the word pierelle
We should have a Wordie gathering somewhere. And do things like dig ditches and fill them with stones. And then instruct passers-by on the appropriate nomenclature.
April 12, 2008
frindley commented on the word pierelle
The Wordie answer to international Sketch Crawl days?
April 12, 2008
mollusque commented on the word pierelle
So how does pierelle different from riprap?
April 12, 2008
frindley commented on the word pierelle
Perhaps differentiated by the size of the ditch in question?
April 12, 2008
bilby commented on the word pierelle
How many Wordies does it take to fill a ditch?
April 12, 2008
bilby commented on the word pierelle
Because the rain here can come in sudden downpours, I often see these contraptions: under a downpipe, a circle of large stones filled in with a pile of pebbles, set in a drainage ditch. It works to prevent the rainwater scouring a giant erosion-hole in the ground and saves the cost of putting in an expensive/ugly big concrete gully trap. I would be happy to call one of these a pierelle. I'll have to find a landscape gardener or two and find out what they would call it.
April 12, 2008
pterodactyl commented on the word pierelle
I have one of these in my backyard. Before today, I called it "that ditch full of stones".
Thank you, Wordie, for once again prettifying my nomenclature!
April 13, 2008
reesetee commented on the word pierelle
Ah, see? That's what Wordie's all about--prettifying our nomenclature. :-D
Mollusque, from what I can find, this word was apparently coined in the 1800s to describe "a mass of stones filling a ditch and covered with clay" (from E. H. Knight's The Practical Dictionary of Mechanics, 1874–77); riprap is apparently a foundation of stones built as a breakwater, revetment, embankment, etc. Nothing on the actual use of a pierelle.
April 14, 2008
mollusque commented on the word pierelle
Thanks, reesetee. I wonder what purpose the clay serves?
April 15, 2008
reesetee commented on the word pierelle
Good question. So far as I can figure, the word appears mainly in documents on mining and drilling, so maybe they're meant for seating posts or some such? Just a guess.
April 15, 2008
mollusque commented on the word pierelle
Could be--the rocks would provide drainage so the posts wouldn't rot.
The derivation is from French pierraille, a "mass of broken or small stones, rubble, ballast" (Cassell's). Pierre-perdue is closer to a synonym for riprap.
April 16, 2008