2005, New Science Publications, New scientist, Volume 188Under Advance Brazil, the government plans to pave over 7000 kilometres of new Amazonian highways, canalise vast rivers and construct dozens of railways, ...
(British spelling) To channel the flow of something.
1948, Winston Churchill, The Second World War: The Gathering Storm, Page 373...yet it is always a wise precaution in defending a frontier of hundreds of miles to bar off as much as possible by fortifications, and thus economise the use of troops in sedentary roles and "canalise" potential invasion.
