Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to Artois, an ancient province of northern France, corresponding to the modern department of Pas-de-Calais.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to Artois (anciently called Artesium), in France.
  • adjective wells made by boring into the earth till the instrument reaches water, which, from internal pressure, flows spontaneously like a fountain. They are usually of small diameter and often of great depth.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of a water supply rising to the surface under its own hydrostatic pressure.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of water) rising to the surface under internal hydrostatic pressure

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French puits artésien ("artesian well"), from the former province of Artois where the technique of artesian wells was elaborated by the monks in the 12th century.

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Examples

  • It may be well to note the fact that the greater part of the so-called artesian wells, or borings which deliver water to a height above the surface, are not true artesian sources, in that they do not send up the water by the action of gravitation, but under the influence of gaseous pressure.

    Outlines of the Earth's History A Popular Study in Physiography Nathaniel Southgate Shaler 1873

  • Caviar from domestic sturgeon farm-raised in "artesian" water and fed natural foods.

    How Green Is Your Gift List? We Find Out 2008

  • Food: The tapas menu features bruschetta, savory tarts, oysters, crab imperial and appetizers, as well as cheese plates, labeled "artesian" instead of "artisan."

    azcentral.com | news 2009

  • Herbal Water Inc. makes six flavors of water by infusing organic herbal extracts in pure artesian water.

    Maria Rodale: What's All This Food Coloring Good For? Maria Rodale 2010

  • There are exactly two ingredients in Chantecaille's Rose Water: roses harvested by hand in Grasse, the French capital of fragrances, and artesian well water.

    Reaching Cult Status 2012

  • After a long and silent gaze at the pond and at the trees and the hills and the streaky sky, Jesse watching him, Joe pushed his way through brambles to study the sturdy little pump house, built over what looked to be a hand-dug artesian well.

    Blues Machine Bill Roorbach 2012

  • "Deep underneath the snow and ice of the Taimyr Peninsula in the Siberian tundra, preserved in large, permeable rocks called" dry aquifers, "artesian plants thousands of years old have been discovered."

    Discourse.net: Not Real. Please. Not Real. 2009

  • Herbal Water Inc. makes six flavors of water by infusing organic herbal extracts in pure artesian water.

    Maria Rodale: What's All This Food Coloring Good For? Maria Rodale 2010

  • First: the watering hole at Balmorhea State Park , a nearly 80,000-square-foot artesian spring swimming pool in the desert.

    Drive-Through Vacations 2011

  • The couple that made pomegranate juice and artesian water trendy donated $45 million to Lacma in 2008.

    The Power List 2010

Comments

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  • I once heard a radio announcer mention something about artesian cheese, but I think he was just mispronouncing artisan.

    July 21, 2010