Berm
Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 9:39 pm
Struck me as a funny little word.
And word historyberm
–noun
1. Also, berme. Fortification. a horizontal surface between the exterior slope of a rampart and the moat.
2. Also called bench. any level strip of ground at the summit or sides, or along the base, of a slope.
3. Also called backshore, beach berm. a nearly flat back portion of a beach, formed of material deposited by the action of the waves.
4. Chiefly Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. the bank of a canal or the shoulder of a road.
5. Chiefly Alaska. a mound of snow or dirt, as formed when clearing land.
6. a bank of earth placed against an exterior wall or walls of a house or other building as protection against extremes of temperature.
–verb (used with object)
7. to cover or protect with a berm: The side walls were bermed to a height of three feet.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bermberm
"narrow ledge," 1729, from Fr. berme (17c.), from O.Du. baerm "edge of a dike," related to brim (q.v.). In U.S., 19c., "the bank of a canal opposite the tow path."
