Reach, Reservoir, Riffle, Rift, Rill, Riparian: Origins, Forms, Histories of Words Meaning River, Lake

The natural features of a region are its topography (Greek topos, "place"). Rivers, lakes, and related bodies of freshwater are important types of topographic features.

In the current alphabetic series of words that name such freshwater features, here are the origins, forms, and histories of reach, reservoir, riffle, rift, rill, and riparian. The dates of forms and meanings come from the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Reach
The noun reach entered English in the 16th century from the verb reach (16th century), from Middle English rechen (12th century), from Old English raecan (before 12th century). The word is akin to Old High German reichen ("to reach").

A reach is something that reaches or stretches. With respect to bodies of water, a reach is a continuous stretch or expanse, especially a straight portion of a river or stream that can be seen in one view; or, between two locks in a canal, a portion of water having a uniform level (1536).

Reservoir
Reservoir entered English in the 17th century from French reservoir, from Middle French reservoir, from reserver ("to reserve"), from Latin reservare (literally "to keep back"), from re- ("back") and servare ("to keep").

A reservoir is an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use, or a place where water naturally collects in large quantities (1690).

Riffle
Riffle (1785) is probably an altered form of ruffle ("commotion," 1534).

The word riffle denotes a stretch of broken water in a stream, or a shallow extending across a streambed that causes the flowing water to break.

Rift
The water-related word rift is probably an altered form of dialectal riff ("reef"), from Dutch rif ("reef").

A rift is a ford, a rapid, or a waterfall formed by a shallow or rocky place in a streambed (1755).

Rill
Rill comes from Dutch ril or Low German rille. The word is akin to Old English rith ("rivulet").

A rill is a very small brook or stream (1538).

Riparian
The adjective riparian comes from Latin riparius ("riparian"), from ripa ("bank, shore").

Riparian means relating to, or located on, the bank of a natural lake or watercourse (1841).
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Encyclopaedia Britannica Ready Reference 2004. CD-ROM. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2006.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2007.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1989.