Stuwende

Stuwende is a Dutch term used as an adjective and participle form of the verb stuwen, meaning to dam or impound water by means of sluices and gates. In general, stuwende describes something that pushes, raises, or regulates water levels through the use of hydraulic structures. The word appears primarily in technical and hydrological contexts.

In hydraulic engineering, stuwen refers to the act of regulating water flow by constricting channels with gates or weirs. A structure involved in this process is a stuw (a dam or weir), and the operations that use such devices can be described as stuwende. This terminology is used to explain how upstream water levels are maintained or how discharge is controlled downstream. The adjective can also describe the resulting conditions or forces, such as stuwende krachten (driving or impounding forces) generated by water pressure against barriers.

Beyond hydrology, stuwende can appear in physics or mechanical contexts to denote thrust or pushing action. In that sense, it is related to concepts like thrust or propulsive force, though the hydrological sense remains the most common usage in Dutch technical writing.

Etymology traces stuwende to stuwen, meaning to dam or to raise a water level, with stuw referring to a dam, weir, or sluice. The term is primarily used in Dutch-speaking engineering and water-management literature and is less common in everyday language.

See also: stuw, stuwdam, sluice, weir, dam, thrust.