0

I'm looking for the right word for the sides of a water body like a pond, tank, and river and NOT sea, where usually the creepers and aquatic plants, reeds and others grow thick.

I want a generic term, not specific to one.

Shores are usually the long stretch of land closer to the sea; not sure if it applies to rivers also, as I am more accustomed to using banks for rivers.

Fords are crossings.

Ghats are places with steps to access the rivers. Not sure, if we can use ghats with respect to a pond or a tank.

These are the only words I know about the areas adjacent to waterbodies.

Can some one suggest a more generic term like I mentioned earlier? There is always a shallow place in a large water body where people have access to water — it could be to gather water, wash or play. If you can imagine, there are plants growing on the sides.

Improve this question
5
  • 2
    ghat is not a common word in English. Ponds and tanks do not collocate here. Ponds are natural. Tanks are manmade. Finally, we say wetlands.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 19 at 22:00
  • @Lambie It is not a common word in use but it is a word that is in use in Asian countries, especially the Indian subcontinent and a few other countries like Malaysia. It is a legitimate word.
    – Ammu
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:09
  • google dictionary: (in South Asia) a flight of steps leading down to a river. Plants do not necessarily grow there at all. Bodies of water have edges, not sides. Only a tank has sides.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:21
  • The generic term is waterside, which can apply to sea, lake, pond, river, stream,...
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jul 20 at 1:47
  • 1
    Yes, ghat is a legitimate word, but specific to Asia and referring to man-made steps so, as I understand it, not suitable for the kind of natural waterside where reeds etc. grow. We can speak of the shore of a lake, but for a smaller pond we would usually say bank, edge or side. I agree with Peter that bank is the best general term.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jul 20 at 9:30

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

Rivers and other bodies of water like ponds have banks. It's just about the most generic word you could use.
Typical everyday BrE usage:

The banks of the River Thames
The bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

Something as artificial as a tank (a small enclosed body of water, for example a animal drinking trough) would probably have an edge
There are other words such as dyke, levee, embankment etc you could use, but these are almost always man made and designed as some form of flood protection. They are unlikely to meet your requirement for growing plants or doing washing.

Improve this answer
5
  • As far as my understanding goes, banks are usually with a slope; they are mainly to contain the water.
    – Ammu
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:12
  • I am looking for a word that has a more versatile use and natural with shallow features where vegetation grows close to the water and the land.
    – Ammu
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:13
  • @Ammu Banks can be at any angle from vertical to a shallow slope. It depends on how they were formed and subsequently maintained.
    – Peter Jennings
    Commented Jul 20 at 1:37
  • 1
    Most Anglophones do their washing in bathrooms, showers, utility rooms, etc., not the banks of some local waterway.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jul 20 at 2:06
  • 1
    Banks are not necessarily 'made' to contain water; they are just the natural edge of a body of water that has gathered in one place (a pond or lake) or is flowing towards the sea (a river).
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jul 20 at 16:18
0

Wetland or wetlands

Simply stated, wetlands are parts of our landscape that are defined by the presence of water. More specifically, wetlands are areas where the presence of water determines or influences most, if not all, of an area's biogeochemistry—that is, the biological, physical, and chemical characteristics of a particular site.

[...] Many wetlands are transitional zones between upland and aquatic ecosystems, although others are scattered across the landscape in upland depressions that collect water or in zones where groundwater comes to the surface.

Different plant communities may be found in different types of wetlands, with each species adapted to the local hydrology (the quantity, distribution, and movement of water throughout a given area). Wetland plants are often referred to as hydrophytes because they are specially adapted to grow in saturated soils. Many bird, insect, and other wildlife species are completely dependent on wetlands for critical stages in their life cycles, while many other species make use of wetlands for feeding, resting, or other life activities.

enter image description here

What is a wetland?

Improve this answer
8
  • I am aware of the wetlands. Unfortunately, it isn't the waterbody I am looking for.
    – Ammu
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:14
  • waterbody? Do you mean body of water? And why include tank in your question? It does not collocate. This: "|sides of a water body like a pond, tank, and river and NOT sea, where usually [the] creepers and aquatic plants, reeds and others grow thick."| can also refer to river's edge or pond's edge. There is no other word as far as I know.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:21
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_of_water#cite_ref-1
    – Ammu
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:27
  • The more I dig online, I am inclining toward "edge" There is so much confusion out there about using the word "shoreline" for ponds and rivers. What do you think of shoreline?
    – Ammu
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:31
  • 1
    shoreline is ok for ponds and rivers. But I would use: plants and reeds that grow along the shore or shoreline.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 19 at 23:39

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .