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alluvium

 - 4 dictionary results

al⋅lu⋅vi⋅um

  [uh-loo-vee-uhm]
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–noun, plural -vi⋅ums, -vi⋅a  [-vee-uh] .
1. a deposit of sand, mud, etc., formed by flowing water.
2. the sedimentary matter deposited thus within recent times, esp. in the valleys of large rivers.
Origin:
1655–65; < L, n. use of neut. of alluvius washed against, equiv. to alluv- (see alluvion ) + -ius, -ium adj. suffix; see -ium
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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al·lu·vi·um   (ə-lōō'vē-əm)   
n.   pl. al·lu·vi·ums or al·lu·vi·a (-vē-ə)
Sediment deposited by flowing water, as in a riverbed, flood plain, or delta. Also called alluvion.

[Medieval Latin, flood, from neuter of Latin alluvius, alluvial, from alluere, to wash against; see alluvion.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

alluvium 
"matter deposited by flowing water," 1665, from M.L. alluvium, neut. of alluvius "washed against," from L. alluere "wash against," from ad- "to, against" + -luere, comb. form of lavere "to wash" (see lave). Alluvial first attested 1802.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

alluvium

material deposited by rivers. It is usually most extensively developed in the lower part of the course of a river, forming floodplains and deltas, but may be deposited at any point where the river overflows its banks or where the velocity of a river is checked-for example, where it runs into a lake

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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