solifluction

[ soh-luh-fluhk-shuhn, sol-uh- ]

nounGeology.

Origin of solifluction

1
1915–20; <Latin sol(um) soil + -i--i- + fluctiōn- a flowing (stem of fluctiō), equivalent to fluct(us) (see fluctuate) + -iōn--ion

Words Nearby solifluction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for solifluction

solifluction

solifluxion

/ (ˈsɒlɪˌflʌkʃən, ˈsəʊlɪ-) /


noun
  1. slow downhill movement of soil, saturated with meltwater, over a permanently frozen subsoil in tundra regions

Origin of solifluction

1
C20: from Latin solum soil + fluctio act of flowing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012