Talk:Impoundment

Impoundment is a noun and a verb

WP is not a dictionary, true, but please be aware that impoundment, as used for water, has two meanings: 1: the act of impounding : the state of being impounded 2: a body of water formed by impounding (Merriam-Webster, but many other are similar).

So a dam is a method of water impoundment, and as well results in a body of water that is called an impoundment. "The result of a dam creating a body of water" is incomplete or inaccurate. Since the target link is not an article about impoundment, but damming, the confusion can't be cleared up by reading the article. Further, the result is not necessarily a reservoir, it can be any body of water (short of a sea or ocean, I suppose). A lake is common when damming were done for flood protection. A pond (which is cognate with impoundment!) is common when damming for ornamental purposes, such as in the city park next to my house.

So I would like to jettison reservoir for body of water, and with both meanings indicated. You might pick one of these or your own variation:

• A body of water formed by a [[dam]], or the damming process to create it
• The process of using a [[dam]] to create a reservoir, lake, or the like; or the resulting body of impounded water

Or separate statements:

• An artificial [[body of water]] (impoundment) formed by a dam
• The impoundment ([[Dam|damming]]) process to create such a body of water

Dovid (talk) 00:05, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

In no dictionary is impoundment a verb. It is the state resulting from the action of impounding, but is not the action itself. A dam is a method of impounding water or of creating an impoundment. The action is not the impoundment, it is the result of the action. Reservoirs are referred to as impoundments and there is no reason for them to not be listed on the page. older ≠ wiser 00:57, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

We're both a little off. It is a noun, but is defined as "the act of impounding." So, in one of its definitions, it is in fact the act, but it's a (verbal) noun. If you like, replace the word "process" above with the word "act," though I'm pretty sure any need is tautological rhetoric. "A body of water or the act of damming to create that body of water."

Regardless of that point, you didn't address the others. 1) use of reservoir as being too specific; 2) any sort of common definition at the top, as allowed by WP:DABNOT. Dovid (talk) 03:35, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

The fact is that reservoirs are known as impoundments. It is the purpose of disambiguation pages to help readers find such ambiguous applications of the term. There is no reason to exclude reservoirs. If other bodies of water are also known as impoundments (and are described as such in the linked article), those might also be included. As for definition, find a truly common definition that isn't a synthesis based on original research. Dab pages don't have references, so the meaning would have to be the essentially same across a variety of dictionaries. older ≠ wiser 10:50, 27 August 2013 (UTC)