earth filln.
/ˈəːθ fɪl/, U.S. /ˈərθ ˌfɪl/ 1. Engineering.
a. An embankment of compacted earth. Cf. fill n.1 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [noun] > embanking > an embankment
wharf10..
mounding1691
banking1776
sunka1784
embankment1786
battery1799
fill1850
earth fill1877
1877 J. T. Fanning Pract. Treat. Water Supply Engin. xix. 413 When the earth-fill behind a wall is carried up above the top level BJ of the wall.., the fill DBF is then termed a surcharged fill.
1911 Engin. & Contracting 8 Nov. 499/2 The diversion dam is a reinforced concrete weir 25 ft. high and 300 ft. long, with an earth fill 2,000 ft. long.
1941 Arkansas: Guide to State (Federal Writers' Project) 324 West of Big Lake State 18 [sc. a road] rides an earth fill and crosses a number of trestles.
1998 R. M. Simon in D. J. Hatem Subsurface Conditions vi. 177 Earth fills are used in many areas of civil engineering construction... Dams, reservoirs, and levees are frequently constructed of compacted earth.
b. A composite material used in construction, comprising a mixture of soil, gravel, broken rock, etc. Cf. fill n.1 Additions.
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1904 Jrnl. Assoc. Engin. Societies 33 184 A 50-foot arch, 20-foot roadway of stone or concrete with earth fill.
1914 Science 10 Apr. 532/2 This dam is an earth embankment 155 feet high and one and one fifth miles long, containing 1,600,000 cubic yards of earth fill.
1951 Pop. Sci. Jan. 106/1 By using this porous material instead of ordinary earth fill, engineers are building a dry roadbed through ooze in a fraction for the time usually needed for fill to settle.
2006 A. H. Cordesman & K. R. Al-Rodhan Iran's Weapons of Mass Destr. 334 The facilities are said to make extensive use of blast-proof doors.., and double concrete ceilings with earth fill between layers to defeat earth penetrators.
2. Archaeology. Fill (fill n.1 2e) composed of earth.
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1929 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 33 102 Among the twelve pits sunk in connection with this work, four passed through earth fill dating from 437-432 B.C., as indicated by the character of the vase fragments..in the débris.
1962 Athenian Agora 8 Index of Deposits 127/2 Skeleton of woman, with head southeast. Most offerings near upper body. Over body, earth fill; above, fill of ashes and cinders.
1993 D. White Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter & Persephone at Cyrene, Libya 71/2 What survives then appears to be the northeast corner of a chamber otherwise buried beneath a deep overburden of earth fill and later walls.
2004 B. Fagan Before Calif. xii. 284 Sterile earth fill now covers part of the site to shield it from further damage.
Compounds
earth-fill dam n. = earth dam n. at earth n.1 Compounds 8b.
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1906 H. C. Hurd Informe sobre el Aprovechamiento de Aguas en el Valle de Moquegua 15 Esta represa corresponde al tipo de represas de tierra (earth fill dam).
1945 Pop. Mech. Apr. 25 When this giant structure is completed in 1946 it will be the highest earthfill dam (465 feet) in the world.
2000 Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encycl. 434/1 The profile of an earth-fill dam is a broad-based triangle.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1877