Levee Levee A levee (), dike, dyke, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines. Speakers of American English (notably in the Midwest and Deep South), use the word "levee", from the French word "levée" (from the feminine past participle of the French verb "lever", "to raise"). It originated in New Orleans a few years after the city's founding in 1718 and was later adopted by English speakers. The
Petitcodiac River designed to restore the river, to be completed by 2015. A popular belief suggests that the name derives from the French term ""petit coude"", meaning "little elbow". In fact, the name derives from an indigenous word, probably Maliseet or, possibly Mi'kmaq. According to Maliseet Elder and linguist Dr. Peter Paul of Woodstock Reserve, the name refers to a wall of water rushing in: "now they call that "petakuyak." [It] means 'sound of thunder,' well, the rush of water coming in like a thunderstorm." If the term has a Mi'kmaq origin, it could have been derived from the word "Petkootkweăk", meaning