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THE NEW BRUNSWICK MAGAZINE.

Acadia in 1708 according to Dièreville is identical with that still used in France. The French lexicographers are not agreed upon the origin of the word, for one derives it from à, at, and bot, a dyke (and eau, water?) while another considers it as coming from à, at, bout, limit or extremity, d'eau, of water.^[1] Its present use in France is somewhat different from its use in Acadia, for in the former it is applied to a dike so arranged as to check a current of water and turn it over the upland for irrigation, while in the latter it is applied to a dike so arranged as to allow fresh water streams to flow into the sea, but not to allow the sea to enter. In the latter case there is an ingeniously arranged sluice with a valve-like "clapper" which opens by pressure of the fresh water within, but closes by pressure of the salt water without, which of course only reaches it at high tides. Apparently some sluice arrangement must be used also in the aboteaux of France for otherwise it would hardly be possible to stop and turn aside the waters at will. Very likely then in structure, the French and Acadian aboteaux are very similar, in each case being a dike thrown directly across a stream but containing a controllable sluiceway.

Mr. Dole's explanation of the origin of the word rests solely upon the resemblance between the form abot and the root abat, sustained somewhat by a similarity in use of the aboideau and some other structures in the name of which abat occurs. He is unable to give a single fact from early use, etc., to sustain his theory, and moreover he has much difficulty in explaining why the word invariably occurs as aboteau and never as abateau, as his theory demands. On the other hand the French lexicographers give other deriva-

↑ Perhaps, however, the bot, meaning a dike, is really derived from bout, in which case there is no discrepancy between the two derivations. It is not unlikely that the word bout, meaning an end, i. e. that which makes an end or limit to a stream, came to mean a dike and later was shortened locally to bot.

[1] Perhaps, however, the bot, meaning a dike, is really derived from bout, in which case there is no discrepancy between the two derivations. It is not unlikely that the word bout, meaning an end, i. e. that which makes an end or limit to a stream, came to mean a dike and later was shortened locally to bot.

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