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
River Chew of its distance, forming part of the Monarch's Way. The name "Chew" has Celtic origins, cognate with the River Chwefru, "cliwyf-ffrenwy", "the moving, gushing water"; ancient forms are "Estoca" (Chew Stoke), "Chiu" (Chew Magna), and "Ciwetune" (Chewton Mendip). Its exact meaning admits of several possible explanations, including "winding water", the "ew" being a variant of the French "eau", "water". The word "chewer" is western dialect for "narrow passage" and "chare" is Old English for "turning." Another theory is that the name derives from the Welsh "cyw", "the young of an animal, or chicken", such that "Afon Cyw" would have meant