levee
/ˈlevi/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlevi/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈle-vē lə-ˈvē, -ˈvā/ (ame, mw)
levee — 名詞
- leveesingular
- leveesplural
1. a long raised wall of earth, stone, or concrete that runs beside a river, lake,
防洪堤
沿河岸築起的防止洪水溢出的堤防
a long raised wall of earth, stone, or concrete that runs beside a river, lake, or sea, built so that water cannot rise over the edge and flood the land behind it.
Heavy rain pushed the river so high that the levee began leaking in three places.
大雨讓河水高漲，防洪堤有三處開始滲水。
subject = natural cause; verb pattern: levee + leak/hold/break
After Hurricane Katrina, engineers in New Orleans rebuilt every levee around the city.
卡崔娜颶風過後，工程師重建了紐奧良周圍每一段防洪堤。
collocation: rebuild / strengthen / inspect a levee
Layla walked her dog along the grassy levee that protected the village from the river.
Layla 沿著保護村莊不受河水侵襲的草坡防洪堤遛狗。
Workers stacked thousands of sandbags on top of the levee before the storm arrived.
工人在暴風雨來臨前，將數千個沙袋疊在防洪堤上。
If this levee breaks, water will reach the town within an hour.
如果這段防洪堤潰決，洪水一小時內就會湧入小鎮。
- embankment
more general; any built-up ridge of earth, including those carrying roads or railways
- dike
near-synonym; Dutch coastal contexts strongly prefer 'dike'
- flood wall
specifically concrete and vertical, while a levee is usually sloping earth
文法句型
a levee along/around [river or area]
用法筆記
Most common in American English, especially for the earthen flood walls along the Mississippi River. British texts more often use 'embankment' or 'flood bank'.
常見錯誤
2. a flat, paved or wooden surface along a riverbank used as a stopping point so th
河岸碼頭
供船隻停靠上下客貨的河邊登岸處
a flat, paved or wooden surface along a riverbank used as a stopping point so that boats can drop off passengers and unload goods.
Steamboats once tied up at the New Orleans levee to unload cotton and sugar.
蒸汽船過去常停靠在紐奧良的河岸碼頭卸下棉花和糖。
tie up at the levee + unload [cargo]
Rodrigo waited at the levee for the morning ferry to take him across the river.
Rodrigo 在河岸碼頭等候早班渡輪過河。
wait at the levee for [boat]
The old wooden levee was crowded with merchants selling fruit to passengers on the riverboat.
老舊的木造河岸碼頭擠滿了向河船乘客兜售水果的小販。
Children jumped off the levee into the warm river water during the summer holidays.
夏季假期裡，孩子們從河岸碼頭跳進溫暖的河水中。
文法句型
at the levee
tie up at the levee
用法筆記
Largely an Americanism, especially in Mississippi River literature and 19th-century travel writing. Distinguish from sense 1: that meaning protects from flooding, while this is a working dock surface.
3. a formal social gathering held by a ruler, ambassador, or other very high-rankin
正式接見
君主或顯要人物接見賓客的正式場合
a formal social gathering held by a ruler, ambassador, or other very high-ranking person, originally in the morning, where invited guests are received and presented.
Each spring the governor held a grand levee for visiting diplomats at the colonial palace.
每年春天，總督都會在殖民地宮殿為來訪的外交官舉行盛大的正式接見。
hold a levee for [guests]
Vikram studied an old painting that showed the king greeting bishops at his morning levee.
Vikram 端詳一幅古畫，畫中國王在晨間正式接見場合迎接主教。
morning levee — the historical timing
Only officers in full dress uniform were permitted to attend the royal levee.
只有身著全套軍禮服的軍官才獲准出席這場皇家正式接見。
Lord Carter's daughter wore a white silk gown to her first levee at the embassy.
Carter 勳爵的女兒身穿白色絲質禮服，出席她在大使館的第一場正式接見。
文法句型
hold a levee
attend a levee
用法筆記
Mainly historical or literary today. Often appears in writing about 18th- and 19th-century courts, especially British and colonial American ones. Pronounced /ˈlɛvi/ or /ləˈviː/, distinct from the French ballet term.
levee — 動詞
- leveepresent simple I / you / we / they
- levees3rd person singular
- leveeing-ing form
- leveedpast simple
1. to construct an earthen flood wall along the side of a river or low area so that
築堤防洪
沿河岸或低地築堤防止洪水蔓延
to construct an earthen flood wall along the side of a river or low area so that the water cannot spread out onto the surrounding land.
The state government decided to levee the entire stretch of river south of Memphis.
州政府決定為孟菲斯以南整段河流築堤防洪。
levee + [stretch of river / area]
Farmers in the delta have leveed their fields for over a hundred years to protect the crops.
三角洲的農民已為農田築堤防洪超過一百年，以保護作物。
perfect tense: have leveed [areas] for [time]
Engineers will levee both banks of the canal before the spring melt begins.
春季融雪開始前，工程師將為運河兩岸築堤防洪。
Once the channel was leveed, the surrounding rice paddies stopped flooding every June.
渠道築堤防洪之後，周圍的稻田就不再每年六月遭水淹了。
文法句型
levee + [river or land]
用法筆記
Almost exclusively American and largely technical or historical. In everyday writing, paraphrase with 'build levees along' or 'build flood walls along' instead.