catchment arean.
/ˈkatʃm(ə)nt ˌɛːrɪə/, U.S. /ˈkɛtʃm(ə)nt ˌɛriə/, /ˈkætʃm(ə)nt ˌɛriə/ 1. The area of land drained by a particular river system, reservoir, or other body of water; a drainage basin; = catchment n. 1, catchment basin n. Cf. watershed n.1 3(b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > land near river > [noun] > catchment area
valleyc1790
basin1804
river basin1824
watershed1839
catchment1844
catchment basin1844
drainage1866
gathering-ground1877
drainage-basin1882
catchment area2001
1844 R. Kane Industr. Resources Ireland 78 The available horse power of the Connaught lakes,..together with the area of catchment basin, and the height of fall is given in the following table: Lakes. Catchment Area. Fall. Horse Power.
1861 Irish Times 27 Apr. Lough Orwel has a small catchment area of 8,100 acres; it is an immense lake for its volume of water.
1930 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 1 Feb. 216/1 The greater part of the water supply of Lancashire comes from upland catchment areas.
1965 Times of India 2 July 7/5 The south-west monsoon has been weak..and the rainfall in the catchment areas of the reservoirs has been poor.
2001 K. Mam in R. E. Wiseman & E. A. Hopkins Sowing Seeds for Sustainability ii. 51 The Mekong..is the twelfth longest of the world's rivers. It drains a catchment area of 795,000 km2 extending across parts of six countries.
2. The area served by a particular institution or organization, esp. a school or hospital.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > for other specific purposes
school rick1773
school district1794
district1854
highway parish1862
catchment area1945
1945 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 13 Jan. 50/1 The Hammersmith Hospital..is administered by the L.C.C. [= London County Council], but is at the western extremity of the county, and Middlesex is its ‘catchment area’.
1959 Times 28 May 13/7 The catchment area for Leeds [prison] is dense—reputedly four and a half million people.
1971 Canberra Times 29 Apr. 11/3 St Christopher's Roman Catholic School..may have to close because of a declining school-age population in its catchment area.
1989 Freight Guide Feb. 9/2 About 80 per cent of our business travellers come from the Houston catchment area.
2014 J. Costello Time of our Lives i. 9 We moved here last year because it's in the catchment area of the exceptionally good state school.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1844