canal

canal [kə nal′]

n.

[ME, pipe or tube < OFr < L canalis, pipe, groove, channel < canna, reed: see CANE]

1. an artificial waterway for transportation or irrigation

2. a river artificially improved by locks, levees, etc. to permit navigation

3. any of the long, narrow lines, visible from earth, on the planet Mars: once thought by some to be canals but now known to be optical illusions

4. Anat. any of various tubular passages or ducts

vt.

canalled or canaled, canalling or canaling

to build a canal through or across