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arroyo

 - 5 dictionary results

ar⋅roy⋅o

  [uh-roi-oh]
–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.
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Origin:
1800–10, Americanism; < Sp; akin to L arrūgia mine shaft
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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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.
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Word Origin & History

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
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Science Dictionary
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.
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Encyclopedia

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

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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