Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
arroyo - 6 dictionary results

ar⋅roy⋅o

  [uh-roi-oh]
Use arroyo in a Sentence
–noun, plural -os.
(chiefly in southwest U.S.) a small steep-sided watercourse or gulch with a nearly flat floor: usually dry except after heavy rains.
Origin:
1800–10, Americanism; < Sp; akin to L arrūgia mine shaft
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To arroyo
ar·roy·o   (ə-roi'ō)   
n.   pl. ar·roy·os
  1. A deep gully cut by an intermittent stream; a dry gulch.
  2. A brook; a creek.

[Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *arrugius, gold mine, underground passage, variant of Latin arrugia, a galleried mine.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Arroyo

Ar*roy"o\, n.; pl. Arroyos. [Sp., fr. LL. arrogium; cf. Gr. ? river, stream, fr. ? to flow.]

1. A water course; a rivulet.

2. The dry bed of a small stream. [Western U. S.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : arroyo
Spanish: arroyo,
German: der Bach,
Japanese: 小川
More Translations »

arroyo 
"a watercourse, dry streambed," 1845, a California word, from Amer.Sp., from Sp., "rivulet, small stream," from L. arrugia "shaft or pit in a gold mine," apparently a compound of ad- "to" + ruga "wrinkle."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
arroyo   (ə-roi'ō)  Pronunciation Key 
A small, deep gully or channel of an ephemeral stream. Arroyos usually have relatively flat floors and are flanked by steep sides consisting of unconsolidated sediments. They are usually dry except after heavy rainfall.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

arroyo

a dry channel lying in a semiarid or desert area and subject to flash flooding during seasonal or irregular rainstorms. Such transitory streams, rivers, or creeks are noted for their gullying effects and especially for their rapid rates of erosion, transportation, and deposition. There have been reports of up to 8 feet (2 m) of deposition in 60 years and like amounts of erosion during a single flood event

Learn more about arroyo with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see arroyo on Thesaurus | Reference