loess

[ loh-es, les, luhs ]
See synonyms for loess on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a loamy deposit formed by wind, usually yellowish and calcareous, common in the Mississippi Valley and in Europe and Asia.

Origin of loess

1
1825–35; <German Löss<Swiss German lösch loose, slack (sch taken as a dial. equivalent of German s), akin to German loseloose

Other words from loess

  • lo·ess·i·al, lo·ess·al, adjective

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British Dictionary definitions for loess

loess

/ (ˈləʊɪs, German lœs) /


noun
  1. a light-coloured fine-grained accumulation of clay and silt particles that have been deposited by the wind

Origin of loess

1
C19: from German Löss, from Swiss German dialect lösch loose

Derived forms of loess

  • loessial (ləʊˈɛsɪəl) or loessal, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for loess

loess

[ əs, lĕs, lŭs ]


  1. A very fine grained silt or clay, thought to have formed as the result of grinding by glaciers and to have been deposited by the wind. Most loess is believed to have originated during the Pleistocene Epoch from areas of land covered by glaciers and from desert surfaces.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.