Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DITCH, n. [Sax. dic, a ditch; D. dyk, a dike; G. deich, a dike; deicher, a ditcher; D. dige, a ditch, a dike; Sw. dike; Fr. digue; Eth. ደሐየ dachi, to dig. Class Dg, No. 14. The primary sense is a digging or place dug. After the practice of embanking commenced, the word was used for the bank made by digging, the dike.]

1. A trench in the earth made by digging, particularly a trench for draining wet land, or for making a fence to guard inclosures, or for preventing an enemy from approaching a town or fortress. In the latter sense, it is called also called a foss or moat, and is dug round the rampart or wall between the scarp and counterscarp. – Encyc.
2. Any long, hollow receptacle of water.