hydraulic head; water head; piezometric head
Civil engineering term for the potential energy of water per unit weight, measured as a height. Used in hydraulics and groundwater flow.
ダムの設計では水頭を正確に計算する必要がある。
In dam design, it is necessary to accurately calculate the hydraulic head.
Archaic term for the area beside a body of water. Not used in modern Japanese; replaced by words like 水辺 (みずべ) or 岸 (きし).
地下水の流れは水頭の差によって生じる。
Groundwater flow occurs due to differences in hydraulic head.
In old documents, the expression 'standing at the water's edge' can be found.
hydrocephalus
Compound of 水 (water) and 頭 (head). The civil engineering sense is a direct translation of the English term 'hydraulic head'. The archaic waterside sense likely derives from the idea of the 'head' or edge of the water.