Noria \No"ri*a\, n. [Sp., from Ar. n[=a]'?ra.]

A large water wheel, turned by the action of a stream against its floats, and carrying at its circumference buckets, by which water is raised and discharged into a trough; used in Arabia, China, and elsewhere for irrigating land; a Persian wheel.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)