DCHP-1 Online

open water Esp.North

• 1 n. the spring thawing of the ice on rivers and lakes, especially the point in time when the ice breaks into pieces that are flushed away by the current.

  See also: break-up (def. 1)  

  • 1922  We remained at Mountain House until open water in the spring.
  • 1931  After open water on until early in June, the spring hunt is in full swing on the frontier. . . .
  • 1956  When open-water came, I had had enough of everything.

• 2 the period of time taken for the ice in rivers and lakes to soften, crack up, and disappear.

  See also: break-up period  

  • 1922  When the open water came, I got one hundred and thirty-two beaver and two otter.
  • 1924  At open water, goods were freighted by large birch-bark canoes. . . .