Other forms: weirs
A weir is a low dam built across a river. Over the weir, a fish pass at the weir, the weir pool.
Water flowing over one creates a recirculating current below that holds anything floating and drowns strong swimmers, which is why weirs kill more people than they look capable of. Many are now being removed to let fish move up rivers again.
1nounweirA low dam built across a river.
“The river rushed over the weir and foamed white below it.”
weir is a dam.
Old English wer comes from werian, to dam up, from a Germanic root meaning to defend or enclose.
Proto-Indo-European
*wer- — to cover
Proto-Germanic
*warjaną
Proto-West Germanic
*warjan
Old English
wer
Middle English
were
English, today
weir
Built from
From Middle English were, from Old English wer, from werian (“to dam up”), from Proto-West Germanic warjan, from Proto-Germanic warjaną, from Proto-Indo-European wer- (“to cover”); Cognate with Old Norse ver (“station for fishing”), Sanskrit वृणोति. Related to warranty.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA