The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Noria \No"ri*a\ (n[=o]"r[i^]*[.a]), n. [Sp., from Ar.
   n[=a]'[=u]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.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

noria
    n 1: a water wheel with buckets attached to the rim; used to
         raise water for transfer to an irrigation channel