Ditch

A ditch (Dutch: sloot) is a small to moderate depression created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. A trench is a long narrow ditch. Ditches are commonly seen around farmland especially in areas that have required drainage, such as The Fens in eastern England and the Netherlands.

Roadside ditches may provide a hazard to motorists and cyclists, whose vehicles may crash into them and get damaged, flipped over or stuck, especially in poor weather conditions, and in rural areas.

In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced "deek" in northern England and "deetch" in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank alongside it. This practice has meant that the name dïc was given to either the excavation or the bank, and evolved to both the words "dike"/"dyke" and "ditch". Thus Offa's Dyke is a combined structure and Car Dyke is a trench, though it once had raised banks as well. In the midlands and north of England, a dike is what a ditch is in the south, a property boundary marker or small drainage channel. Where it carries a stream, it may be called a running dike as in Rippingale Running Dike, which leads water from the catchwater drain, Car Dyke, to the South Forty Foot Drain in Lincolnshire (TF1427). The Weir Dike is a soak dike in Bourne North Fen, near Twenty and alongside the River Glen.

Ditch (fortification)

A ditch in military engineering is an obstacle, designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders. In military fortifications the side of a ditch (or gorge) farthest from the enemy and closest to the next line of defence is known as the scarp while the side of a ditch closest to the enemy is known as the counterscarp.

Uses

In early fortifications, ditches were often used in combination with ramparts to slow down the enemy whilst defensive fire could be brought to bear from the relative protection afforded by the rampart and possibly the palisade. In medieval fortification, a ditch was often constructed in front of a defensive wall to hinder mining and escalade activities from an attacker. When filled with water, such a defensive ditch is called a moat. However, moats may also be dry.

Later star forts designed by military engineers like Vauban, comprised elaborate networks of ditches and parapets, carefully calculated so that the soil for the raised earthworks was provided, as nearly as possible, entirely by the excavations whilst also maximising defensive firepower.

Ditch (disambiguation)

The term ditch may refer to

-ism

-ism is a suffix in many English words, first usage , originally derived from Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismos), reaching English through Latin, via French. It is often used in philosophy to define specific ideologies, and, as such, at times it is used as a noun when referring to a broad range of ideologies in a general sense. The suffix 'ism' qua ism is neutral and therefore bears no connotations associated with any of the many ideologies it has been appended to; such determinations can only be informed by public opinion regarding specific ideologies like ageism, cubism etc. According to Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage it is a belief, attitude, style, etc., that is referred to by a word that ends in the suffix -ism : the act, practice, or process of doing something

• act :practice :process <criticism> <plagiarism> / manner of action or behavior characteristic of a (specified) person or thing <animalism>

• prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a (specified) attribute <racism> <sexism>

ISM

Ism may refer to:

ISM may stand for:

Entertainment

Industry

Politics

Education

Arabic name

Arabic names were historically based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was mainly in use throughout Arabia and part of the Levant.

Structure of the Arabic name

Ism

The ism (اسم) is the personal name (e.g. "Jafar" or "Ali"). Most names are Arabic words with a meaning, usually signaling the hoped-for character of the person. Such words are employed as adjectives and nouns in regular language.

Generally, the context and grammar differentiate between names and adjectives, but Arab newspapers sometimes try to avoid confusion by placing names in brackets or quotation marks.

A very common name is Muhammad, used throughout the Muslim world, including parts of Africa, Arabia, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia. The name may be abbreviated to Md., Mohd., Muhd., or simply M. in many cases, in which case the second given name is the one most commonly used. This can be seen in many names in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.