Detritus

3 definitions found

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

  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.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     Note: For large portions, the word d['e]bris is used.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Hence: Any fragments separated from the body to which they
        belonged; any product of disintegration.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The mass of detritus of which modern languages are
              composed.                             --Farrar.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  detritus
       n 1: the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken
            up [syn: {debris}, {dust}, {junk}, {rubble}]
       2: loose material (stone fragments and silt etc) that is worn
          away from rocks

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  65 Moby Thesaurus words for "detritus":
     afterglow, afterimage, alluvion, alluvium, balance, breccia, butt,
     butt end, candle ends, chaff, debris, deposit, diluvium, drift,
     end, fag end, filings, fossil, grain, granule, granulet, gravel,
     grit, holdover, husks, leavings, leftovers, loess, moraine,
     odds and ends, offscourings, orts, parings, rags, refuse, relics,
     remainder, remains, remnant, residue, residuum, rest, roach,
     rubbish, ruins, rump, sand, sawdust, scourings, scraps, scree,
     sediment, shadow, shavings, shingle, silt, sinter, straw, stubble,
     stump, survival, sweepings, trace, vestige, waste