driftway

English

Etymology

drift +‎ way

Noun

driftway (plural driftways)

1. A road or path for driving cattle or sheep, on the commons or on private land.

   Synonyms: droveway, driveway (uncommon)

   • 1611, A decree concerning Holland Fen […] :

     The said commoners […] to leave a driftway for the cattle and beasts of the said Edward Dymocke.

2. (mining) A drift, or horizontal passage in a mine.
3. (US, Rhode Island) An access road to the sea.

Related terms

• (droveway): drift of the forest

Translations

horizontal passage in a mine

• Finnish: kaivoskäytävä

References

• “driftway”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.