VOCABULARY LISTS

Water words

July 12, 2012 By Zoe

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106 Words Activities Assignments
definitions & notes only words
  1. lough
    Irish word for a lake
  2. alluvial
    relating to deposits carried by rushing streams
  3. aquifer
    underground layer of rock or sand that yields groundwater
  4. berm
    a narrow ledge or shelf at the top or bottom of a slope
  5. brine
    a strong solution of salt and water used for pickling
  6. camber
    a slight convexity (as of the surface of a road)
  7. confluence
    a place where things merge or flow together
  8. effluent
    water mixed with waste matter
  9. escarpment
    a long steep slope at the edge of a plateau or ridge
  10. flume
    a narrow gorge with a stream running through it
  11. fluvial
    of or relating to or happening in a river
  12. interstice
    small opening between things
  13. levee
    an embankment built to prevent a river from overflowing
  14. moraine
    accumulated earth and stones deposited by a glacier
  15. noria
    a water wheel with buckets attached to the rim
  16. phreatic
    of or relating to ground water
  17. revetment
    a facing (usually masonry) that supports an embankment
  18. riffle
    a small wave on the surface of a liquid
  19. riparian
    relating to or located on the banks of a river or stream
  20. shoal
    a stretch of shallow water
  21. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  22. slough
    a hollow filled with mud
  23. sluice
    conduit that carries a rapid flow of water
  24. slurry
    a suspension of insoluble particles usually in water
  25. subsidence
    a gradual sinking to a lower level
  26. thalweg
    the middle of the chief navigable channel of a waterway that forms the boundary line between states
  27. turbid
    clouded as with sediment
  28. weir
    a low dam built across a stream to raise its level or divert its flow
  29. eagre
    a high wave caused by tidal flow
  30. edema
    swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid
  31. effloresce
    come into or as if into flower
  32. Empedocles
    Greek philosopher who taught that all matter is composed of particles of fire and water and air and earth (fifth century BC)
  33. esker
    (geology) a long winding ridge of post glacial gravel and other sediment; deposited by meltwater from glaciers or ice sheets
  34. eutrophic
    (ecology) of a lake or other body of water rich in nutrients and subject to eutrophication
  35. aneroid
    containing no liquid or actuated without the use of liquid
  36. anastomosis
    a natural or surgical joining of parts or branches of tubular structures so as to make or become continuous
  37. anoxic
    relating to or marked by a severe deficiency of oxygen in tissues or organs
  38. toroidal
    of or relating to or shaped like a toroid; doughnut shaped
  39. antediluvian
    of or relating to the period before the biblical flood
  40. xeric
    being deficient in moisture
  41. xylem
    the woody part of plants: the supporting and water-conducting tissue, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels
  42. phloem
    (botany) tissue that conducts synthesized food substances (e.g., from leaves) to parts where needed; consists primarily of sieve tubes
  43. wallow
    roll around
  44. waterworn
    (of rocks especially) worn smooth by the action of water
  45. usufruct
    a legal right to use and profit from someone else's property
  46. tarn
    a mountain lake (especially one formed by glaciers)
  47. tilth
    aggregation of soil and its condition for supporting growth
  48. turbid
    clouded as with sediment
  49. sapropel
    sludge that accumulates at the bottom of lakes or oceans
  50. scablands
    (geology) flat elevated land with poor soil and little vegetation that is scarred by dry channels of glacial origin (especially in eastern Washington)
  51. scarp
    a long steep slope or cliff at the edge of a plateau or ridge; usually formed by erosion
  52. scudding
    the act of moving along swiftly (as before a gale)
  53. seiche
    a wave on the surface of a lake or landlocked bay
  54. selva
    a rain forest in a tropical area
  55. sere
    having lost all moisture
  56. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  57. slake
    satisfy, as thirst
  58. slough
    a hollow filled with mud
  59. souse
    immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate
  60. spate
    a sudden forceful flow
  61. spume
    foam or froth on the sea
  62. sump
    a well or other hole in which water has collected
  63. swale
    a low area (especially a marshy area between ridges)
  64. swash
    the movement or sound of water
  65. rhabdomancy
    searching for underground water or minerals by using a dowsing rod
  66. rheology
    the branch of physics that studies the deformation and flow of matter
  67. rime
    ice crystals forming a white deposit
  68. roily
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
  69. runnel
    a small stream
  70. pelagic
    relating to or occurring or living in or frequenting the open ocean
  71. plash
    the sound like water splashing
  72. purl
    flow in a circular current, of liquids
  73. ogee
    a molding that (in section) has the shape of an S with the convex part above and the concave part below
  74. nadir
    the lowest point of anything
  75. neve
    the upper part of a glacier where the snow turns to ice
  76. maar
    a flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion; often filled with water
  77. marl
    a loose and crumbling earthy deposit consisting mainly of calcite or dolomite; used as a fertilizer for soils deficient in lime
  78. mizzle
    very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower
  79. Indra
    chief Hindu god of the Rig-Veda; god of rain and thunder
  80. kelpie
    a water spirit in the form of a horse
  81. kibble
    an iron bucket used for hoisting in wells or mining
  82. lacustrine
    of or relating to or living near lakes
  83. lade
    fill or place a load on
  84. lahar
    an avalanche of volcanic water and mud down the slopes of a volcano
  85. lave
    wash or flow against
  86. lentic
    of or relating to or living in still waters
  87. Lethe
    a river in Hades
  88. lotic
    of or relating to or living in actively moving water
  89. loam
    a rich soil consisting of sand, clay and organic materials
  90. hoarfrost
    ice crystals forming a white deposit
  91. hummock
    a small natural hill
  92. Hyades
    7 daughters of Atlas and half-sisters of the Pleiades
  93. hydromancy
    divination by water
  94. gush
    flow forth in a sudden stream or jet
  95. fen
    low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation
  96. firth
    a long narrow estuary (especially in Scotland)
  97. floc
    a small loosely aggregated mass of flocculent material suspended in or precipitated from a liquid
  98. fjord
    a long narrow inlet of the sea between steep cliffs
  99. floe
    a flat mass of ice drifting at sea
  100. freshet
    the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow
  101. friable
    easily broken into small fragments or reduced to powder
  102. debouch
    march out (as from a defile) into open ground
  103. deliquesce
    melt or become liquid by absorbing moisture from the air
  104. billabong
    a stagnant pool of water in the bed of a stream that flows intermittently
  105. boreal
    toward or located in the north
  106. ichor
    the rarified fluid said to flow in the veins of the Gods

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