Alluvion

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Alluvion \Al*lu"vi*on\, n. [F. alluvion, L. alluvio, fr. alluere
     to wash against; ad + luere, equiv. to lavare, to wash. See
     {Lave}.]
     1. Wash or flow of water against the shore or bank.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. An overflowing; an inundation; a flood. --Lyell.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Matter deposited by an inundation or the action of flowing
        water; alluvium.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The golden alluvions are there [in California and
              Australia] spread over a far wider space: they are
              found not only on the banks of rivers, and in their
              beds, but are scattered over the surface of vast
              plains.                               --R. Cobden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Law) An accession of land gradually washed to the shore
        or bank by the flowing of water. See {Accretion}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  alluvion
       n 1: gradual formation of new land, by recession of the sea or
            deposit of sediment
       2: the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto
          normally dry land; "plains fertilized by annual
          inundations" [syn: {flood}, {inundation}, {deluge}]
       3: clay or silt or gravel carried by rushing streams and
          deposited where the stream slows down [syn: {alluvial
          sediment}, {alluvial deposit}, {alluvium}]