is it a pond or a lake

[regulators]

just how big does a pond have to be to be called a lake

[Clanad]

In the US at least, the main difference between lakes and ponds is size. Lakes are deeper and larger bodies of water that can influence local climate if large enough. Ponds are much smaller than lakes and usually have the same temperature from top to bottom, whereas lakes can have dramatically different temperatures from the surface to the bottom waters. Also, rather than affecting local climate, ponds are usually greatly affected by local conditions. Another definition is: a lake is usually defined as a body of water large enough to have at least one wind-swept beach; ponds usually are not large enough for winds to blow across the water and create waves to wash away the plants that may be trying to take root... hope this helps...

[Quizmonster]

The word 'pond' originally meant much the same as we now mean when we say 'pound' as in 'dog-pound'...ie an enclosed space. In other words, the earliest ponds were artificial and usually created for a specific purpose - mill-pond, skating-pond etc. Over time and in certain areas, the word came to mean any small body of water, whether natural or artificial. Given that they were basically man-made to start with, they were obviously of relatively small size compared with, say Lake Michigan! On the other hand, Brits and Yanks often refer - albeit jokingly - to the Atlantic Ocean as 'the Pond'!