drumlin

American  

[druhm-lin] / ˈdrʌm lɪn /

noun

Geology.

1. a long, narrow or oval, smoothly rounded hill of unstratified glacial drift.

---

drumlin British  

/ ˈdrʌmlɪn /

noun

1. a streamlined mound of glacial drift, rounded or elongated in the direction of the original flow of ice

---

drumlin Scientific  

/ drŭm′lĭn /

1. An extended, oval hill or ridge of compacted sediment deposited and shaped by a glacier. Drumlins are typically about 30 m (98 ft) high and are longer than they are wide. They have one steep and one gentle slope along their longest axis, which is parallel to the direction of the glacier's movement. The steepest slope faces the direction from which the glacier originated, and the gentler slope faces the direction in which the glacier was advancing.

---

Etymology

Origin of drumlin

1825–35; drum ² + -lin, variant of -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Drumlins can occur in great numbers in drumlin fields.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Last week, she saw him driving the number 18 bus / his week a swollen drumlin, a vine scar dragging itself / across his mouth.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 21, 2015

A drumlin and a roche moutonée are both streamlined glacial erosion features.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

For example, a drumlin is an elongated feature that is streamlined at the down-ice end.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

I spent the mornings at my chores, one eye on the sea, and then, from the top of a drumlin, spent some time looking north, my old spyglass ready.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk