Dike (dī), n. [OE. dic, dike, diche, ditch, AS. dīc dike, ditch; akin to D. dijk dike, G. deich, and prob. teich pond, Icel. dīki dike, ditch, Dan. dige; perh. akin to Gr. τεῖχος (for θεῖχος) wall, and even E. dough; or perh. to Gr. τῖφος pool, marsh. Cf. Ditch.]
1. A ditch; a channel for water made by digging.
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Little channels or dikes cut to every bed. Ray.
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2. An embankment to prevent inundations; a levee.
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Dikes that the hands of the farmers had raised . . .
Shut out the turbulent tides. Longfellow.
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3. A wall of turf or stone. [Scot.]
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4. (Geol.) A wall-like mass of mineral matter, usually an intrusion of igneous rocks, filling up rents or fissures in the original strata.
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