French drain

English thumb|Diagram of a French drain Etymology en American inventor Henry F. French Henry F. French. Noun A shallow trench, sometimes lined with tile or containing a perforated pipe, backfilled with gravel and then covered over, used to collect and channel runoff water. A gravel-filled corridor with a perforated pipe running through it that runs against the foundation footings of a building, used to collect ground water and drain it away from the building's interior. Synonyms foundation drainage weeping tile, foundation drain, rubble drain Translations foundation drainage French: fr drain français, fr drain de fondation References French, Henry F., Farm Drainage: The Principles, Processes, and Effects of Draining Land with Stones, Wood, Plows, and Open Ditches and Especially with Tiles, Including Tables of Rain-Fall, Evaporation, Filtration, Excavation, Capacity of Pipes; Cost and Number to the Acre of Tiles, Etc, Etc., New York, A.O. Moore & Co., 1859. Further reading https://web.archive.org/web/20060906125211/http://www.concordma.com/magazine/janfeb00/frenchdrains.html – article speculating about Henry French origin en eponyms