Culvert

Origin

Obscure, possibly dialect or related to the name of the long-forgotten inventor, or possibly from French couvert ("covered"), although couvert cannot be used in the same way, and the introduction of an l to make the English word is difficult to explain.

Full definition of culvert

Noun

1. A transverse channel under a road or railway for the draining of water.
• 1922, Virginia Woolf, , Vintage Classics, paperback edition, page 91A raft of twigs stayed upon a stone, suddenly detached itself, and floated towards the culvert.
• 1996, Janette Turner Hospital, , Virago Press, paperback edition, page 167After she left, I ran away for a day, and hid myself, solitary, in a culvert under the railway lines.