canalizedadj.
/ˈkanəlʌɪzd/, /ˈkanl̩ʌɪzd/, U.S. /ˈkænəˌlaɪzd/ 1. Of a body of water: that has been made into a canal. Also, of land: provided with a canal or canals; cut through by a canal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [adjective] > converted into canal
canalled1724
canalized1855
1855 Househ. Words 12 54 The canalised river.
1885 Athenæum 605/2 Slowly descending the canalized Seine.
1911 F. H. King Farmers of Forty Cent. 272 The square miles of canalized land in China..would indicate an acreage of rice..quite as large as estimated.
1921 J. H. Curle This World of Ours 87 The Isthmus of..Panama, is as densely afforested as that other canalised Isthmus of Suez is stark desert.
2010 T. McCarthy C vii. 134 They come to a row of houseboats moored on a canalisedsection of river.
2. Biology. Designating a trait, phenotype, etc., that is relatively consistent in spite of genetic or environmental variations.
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1942 C. H. Waddington in Nature 14 Nov. 564/1 A set of alternative canalized paths.
1978 Systematic Zool. 27 431 The taxonomic recognition of species denotes the presence of a highly canalized phenotype which has been maintained over genetically diverse populations.
1992 A. E. Weis in R. S. Fritz & E. L. Simms Plant Resistance to Herbivores & Pathogens vii. 151 If environments are constant, then over the long run selection will favor canalized development.
2017 T. L. Kuther Lifespan Devel. ii. 52/1 Canalized traits are biologically programmed, and only powerful environmental forces can change their developmental path.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1855