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sediment

[n. sed-uh-muhnt; v. sed-uh-ment]

Origin

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noun

the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs.

Geology. mineral or organic matter deposited by water, air, or ice.

verb (used with object)

to deposit as sediment.

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Sediment is always a great word to know.

So is permeability. Does it mean:

capability of a porous rock or sediment to permit the flow of fluids through its pore spaces

thin, distinctive stratum useful for stratigraphic correlation

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verb (used without object)

to form or deposit sediment.

Origin:
1540–50; < Latin sedimentum, equivalent to sedi- (combining form of sedēre to sit¹, settle) + -mentum -ment

Related forms

sed·i·men·tous, adjective

self-sed·i·ment·ed, adjective

Can be confused: sand, sediment, silt.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To sediment

Collins

World English Dictionary

sediment (ˈsɛdɪmənt)

—n
1.	matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid
2.	material that has been deposited from water, ice, or wind

[C16: from Latin sedimentum a settling, from sedēre to sit]

sedimentous

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

sediment

1547, from Fr. sédiment (16c.), from L. sedimentum "a settling, sinking down," from stem of sedere "to settle, sit" (see sedentary). As a type of rock, sedimentary is first recorded 1830 (in Lyell); sedimentation is from 1874.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

sediment sed·i·ment (sěd'ə-mənt)
n.
Insoluble material that sinks to the bottom of a liquid, as in hypostasis.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

sediment

(sěd'ə-mənt) Pronunciation Key

Geology Solid fragmented material, such as silt, sand, gravel, chemical precipitates, and fossil fragments, that is transported and deposited by water, ice, or wind or that accumulates through chemical precipitation or secretion by organisms, and that forms layers on the Earth's surface. Sedimentary rocks consist of consolidated sediment.
Chemistry
Particles of solid matter that settle out of a suspension to the bottom of the liquid.

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