man-made water channel; artificial trench; moat
Archaic term for a man-made water channel, especially one dug around a castle for defense. Now mostly encountered in historical contexts.
A deep moat was dug around the castle.
Standard kanji spelling; the shorter form is more common than 堀切り.
Alternate kanji spelling; less common than 堀切.
Compound of 堀 (hori, 'ditch, moat') and 切 (kiri, 'cut'), literally 'cut ditch'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term likely originated in castle construction terminology.