Artesian Wells
Preserved but no longer current.
So called from Artels, the Old French name for Artois, in France, where they were first bored. They are sunk with a boring or drilling apparatus into water or oil-bearing strata from which the liquid rises by its own pressure to the top of the bore.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Artesian Wells” mean?
So called from Artels, the Old French name for Artois, in France, where they were first bored. They are sunk with a boring or drilling apparatus into water or oil-bearing strata from which the liquid rises by its own pressure to the top of the bore.
Is “Artesian Wells” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.