noun
waterway; canal; water channel; aqueduct
Refers to a route or channel through which water flows or is carried, including natural watercourses, irrigation channels, canals, and engineered conduits.
田んぼに水を引くための水路を作った。
They built a water channel to bring water to the rice fields.
この町には古い水路が今も残っ
Old waterways still remain in this town.
noun
swimming pool lane
Technical or competition-related use for a lane in a swimming pool. In everyday conversation, コース or レーン is often more familiar.
競泳で「水路」は、選手が泳ぐプールのレーンを指す。
In competitive swimming, 水路 refers to the pool lane a swimmer uses.
The common loanword for a lane in a pool, road, or track; for swimming, it is usually more conversational than the technical 水路 sense.
A Sino-Japanese compound of 水, 'water,' and 路, 'route' or 'path'; the spelling transparently conveys a route or channel for water.