alluvial

English

WOTD – 20 June 2009

Etymology

From Latin alluvius (“alluvial”), from alluviō (“an overflowing, inundation”), from alluō (“wash against”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /əˈluː.vi.əl/

Adjective

alluvial (not comparable)

  1. Pertaining to the soil deposited by a stream.
    • 1992, Anna K. Behrensmeyer & Robert W. Hook, "Paleoenvironmental Contexts and Taphonomic Modes" in, Terrestrial Ecosystems through Time, page 35.
      Soils are a prominent feature of floodplain environments, and we include them in this section because most of the available information on ancient soils pertains to alluvial examples, aside from those in Quaternary-Recent time.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

alluvial (plural alluvials)

  1. A deposition of sediment over a long period of time by a river; an alluvial layer.
  2. Alluvial soil; specifically, in Australia, gold-bearing alluvial soil.

Usage notes

  • The noun is normally used in the plural by engineers who recover valuable minerals from these layers.

Translations

See also

French

Adjective

alluvial (feminine singular alluviale, masculine plural alluviaux, feminine plural alluviales)

  1. alluvial

Further reading

German

Adjective

alluvial (not comparable)

  1. alluvial

Declension

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.