alluvion

American  

[uh-loo-vee-uhn] / əˈlu vi ən /

noun

1. Law. a gradual increase of land on a shore or a river bank by the action of water, whether from natural or artificial causes.

2. overflow; flood.

3. Now Rare. alluvium.

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alluvion British  

/ əˈluːvɪən /

noun

1. 1. the wash of the sea or of a river

   2. an overflow or flood

   3. matter deposited as sediment; alluvium

2. law the gradual formation of new land, as by the recession of the sea or deposit of sediment on a riverbed

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Etymology

Origin of alluvion

1530–40; < Latin alluviōn- (stem of alluviō an overflowing), equivalent to al- al- + -luv-, base of -luere, combining form of lavere to wash) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The Pacific and Atlantic coast strips, even the great but bleak valley of the St. Lawrence, are mere incidents of territorial unity and political control when compared with the great alluvion of the Mississippi.

From The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Vol. IV. (of IV.) by Sloane, William Milligan

Immediately on the banks of the Ohio and other large rivers are strips of rich alluvion soil.

From A New Guide for Emigrants to the West by Peck, John Mason

Probable depth of alluvion is about one fifth of a mile, by inference from the depth of the Gulf of Mexico.'

From Continental Monthly , Vol. 5, No. 6, June, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various

The level surface of this alluvion is illustrated by the very slight descent of the Jhelam.

From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, September, 1878 by Various

A part of this county lies in the American bottom, and is a rich and level alluvion; but much of the county is high, undulating, and proportionably divided into timber and prairie.

From A New Guide for Emigrants to the West by Peck, John Mason