back-water

The Sailor's Word-Book

The swell of the sea thrown back, or rebounded by its contact with any solid body. Also the loss of power occasioned by it to paddles of steamboats, &c. The water in a mill-race which cannot get away in consequence of the swelling of the river below. Also, an artificial accumulation of water reserved for clearing channel-beds and tide-ways. Also, a creek or arm of the sea which runs parallel to the coast, having only a narrow strip of land between it and the sea, and communicating with the latter by barred entrances. The west coast of India is remarkable for its back-waters, which give a most useful smooth water communication from one place to another, such as from Cochin to Quilon, a distance of nearly 70 miles.

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