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detritus - 7 dictionary results

de⋅tri⋅tus

[di-trahy-tuhs]
–noun
1. rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice.
2. any disintegrated material; debris.

Origin:
1785–95; < F détritus < L: a rubbing away, equiv. to dētrī-, var. s. of dēterere to wear down, rub off (de- de- + terere to rub) + -tus suffix of v. action


de⋅tri⋅tal, adjective
de·tri·tus   (dĭ-trī'təs)   
n.   pl. detritus
  1. Loose fragments or grains that have been worn away from rock.
    1. Disintegrated or eroded matter: the detritus of past civilizations.
    2. Accumulated material; debris: "Poems, engravings, press releases—he eagerly scrutinizes the detritus of fame" (Carlin Romano).

[French détritus, from Latin dētrītus, from past participle of dēterere, to lessen, wear away; see detriment.]
de·tri'tal (-trīt'l) adj.

Detritus

De*tri"tus\, n. [F. d['e]tritus, fr. L. detritus, p. p. of deterere. See Detriment.]

1. (Geol.) A mass of substances worn off from solid bodies by attrition, and reduced to small portions; as, diluvial detritus.

Note: For large portions, the word d['e]bris is used.

2. Hence: Any fragments separated from the body to which they belonged; any product of disintegration.

The mass of detritus of which modern languages are composed. --Farrar.

detritus 
1795, "process of erosion," from L. detritus "a wearing away," from detri-, stem of detere "wear away" (see detriment). Geological sense of "matter produced by erosion" is 1802, probably from Fr. detritus; incorrect, in any case.

Main Entry: de·tri·tus
Pronunciation: di-'trIt-&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural de·tri·tus /-'trIt-&s, -'trI-"tüs/
: loose material resulting from disintegration (as of tissue)

detritus de·tri·tus (dĭ-trī'təs)
n. pl. detritus
Loose matter resulting from the wearing away or disintegration of a tissue or substance.

detritus   (dĭ-trī'təs)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. Loose fragments, such as sand or gravel, that have been worn away from rock.
  2. Matter produced by the decay or disintegration of an organic substance.

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