ScienceSeptember 3, 2026

borewell

BOR-well

Definition

A narrow hole or shaft drilled into the ground to access water from an underground aquifer.

Etymology

The word is a compound of 'bore', originating from the Old English 'borian' meaning to pierce or drill, and 'well', an Old English term for a water source or spring. It describes a well created by mechanical drilling rather than manual digging.

In the news

The article describes how the new species of fish was discovered after being accidentally pumped out of a borewell. Researchers later used these same borewells to manually pump water to locate and collect specimens of the eel.

TikTok tip-off leads to discovery of new species of blind eel from underground borewell in Bihar

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