International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage Commission Interationale des Irrigation et du Drainage

Multilingual Technical Dictionary (MTD)
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Term No.Term NameTerm Description
4698V-drag, or V-crowderA V-shaped wooden or steel implement for construction and maintenance of small ditches. In operation, the operator stands on the runner board parallel.....
1913VacuoleA cavity in the protoplasm of cells which contains a watery liquid, the cell-sap......
5648Vacuum concreteA concrete produced by applying a vacuum to the poured concrete by means of the forms or a separate mat, so that the pressure of the atmosphere expels.....
5941Vacuum linerA special form liner made of two layers of screen or wire mesh covered by a layer of cloth. The liner is sealed with rubber or caulking material aroun.....
4502Vacuum pump1 - A pump for creating a partial vacuum in a closed space. 2 - A pump where water is forced up a pipe by the difference in pressure between the atmos.....
8714Vacuum tankClosed unit where the pressures can be maintained to any desired degree of vacuum so that cavitation effects can be observed readily in a model......
991Vadose water, Gravity suspended water, or Gravitational water1 - Water in excess of adsorption water and pellicular water seeping towards water table. 2 - See 1858......
2321Valley1 - An elongated depression usually with an outlet between bluffs or between ranges of hills or mountains. 2 - See 2320......
2463Valley floorBottom of the canyon or valley......
1057Valley springGroundwater discharge to the earth`s surface caused by a sudden change of slope on the side of an erosion valley (See 1054)......
7968Valley storage1 - The volume below the water surface profile. 2 - The natural storage capacity or volume occupied by a stream in flood after it has overflowed its b.....
919Valley storage, Lateral storageThe natural storage capacity or volume occupied by a stream in flood after it has overflowed its banks. It includes the quantity of water within the m.....
1379Valley trenchingGully erosion occurring in floodplains......
4790Valve bodyMain part of a valve through which water flows, and that contains the moving parts and which allows connection to the irrigation system......
2725Valve chamber, or Valve houseA structure housing the regulating valves, control mechanisms for operation of valves and equipment required to remove parts for repair, etc......
6218Valve control pointAn electrical panel designed for only one directional valve. One side of it is connected to the directional valve, and the other to the field control .....
4799Valve pressure testA test that enables to determine the pressure resistance of a complete valve......
1848Vapour movementMovement of moisture in the vapour stage......
886Vapour pressureThe partial pressure of water vapour in the air or atmosphere......
4946Vapour pressurePressure exerted by water vapour contained in the air......
8579VariableA quantity that can change in a system......
58VariableGenerally, any quantity that varies. More precisely, a variable is a quantity that may take any one of a specified set of values. The variable may be .....
2354Variable radius arch dam, or Variable centre damA type of an arch dam when neither the radius nor the central angle is constant. This dam is a compromise between the constant radius and the constant.....
116VarianceA measure of the degree of dispersion of a set of values around their mean, obtained by calculating the mean value of the squares of the deviations fr.....
5771VarnishA liquid coating material consisting essentially of a homogeneous mixture of resin, drying oil, drier and solvent and containing no pigment, that flow.....
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The Multilingual Technical Dictionary (MTD) is an e-dictionary of all technical terms related to irrigation, drainage, flood management, environment, river training, and allied disciplines of the water sector. Any term/ definition can be printed/copied with the option to download/updates of terms from the ICID website. The MTD enriches the process of sharing and exchange of experiences and has proven to be highly useful for engineers, researchers, students, professionals, planners, designers, academics and all others related to the field of irrigation and drainage.  It is more helpful for professionals outside the water sector, in simplifying the technical jargon and to understand the sectoral nuances easily. 

As part of ICID's flagship activity, it was first published in English and French languages in 1967, the – 4th  edition of the MTD (English-French) was brought out on CD-ROM in the year 2002. Currently, we are following the 5th  edition released in 2009, which defines 9,370 technical terms in Chinese, Japanese and Russian, besides English and French. This online version of MTD is based on the 5th edition's DVD format. This version includes 9370 technical terms with matching English and French translation. The DVD version also includes terms collected in Chinese, Japanese and Russian languages with the active support received from respective National Committees. However, full integration with online versions has not taken place due to the difference in available translation editions/ versions. National Committees of Iran, China, Japan, Russia, Korea, and India are working on the translation/  updating part to match the present online version.