As a noun: narrow channels dug in the ground for drainage; as a verb: to abandon or get rid of something.
From Old English 'dic,' related to 'dike,' meaning an excavated channel. The verb meaning 'to abandon' emerged in the 1800s as slang.
The word has two lives: the literal agricultural meaning (drainage ditches that have existed for thousands of years) and the slang meaning (to 'ditch' someone). Language often gives old words new meanings in youth culture.
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