alcantarillado

sewage system

noun ahl-kahn-tah-ree-YAH-doh Rare

Origin: Arabic al-qantara (the bridge/arch)

Also means

drainage network

Usage Note

Alcantarillado refers to the entire underground network of pipes and channels that carries waste water and storm runoff away from a city — the sewer system as infrastructure, not a single drain (alcantarilla). The Arabic root al-qantara (the arch) is visible in alcantarilla, the individual drain cover or culvert. Red de alcantarillado is the full technical phrase; sistema de alcantarillado is also common.

Examples

"La ciudad modernizó todo su alcantarillado en diez años."

Natural Translation

The city modernised its entire sewer system in ten years.

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