littoral
[ lit-er-uh l ]
/ ˈlɪt ər əl /
adjective
of or relating to the shore of a lake, sea, or ocean.
(on ocean shores) of or relating to the biogeographic region between the sublittoral zone and the high-water line and sometimes including the supralittoral zone above the high-water line.
of or relating to the region of freshwater lake beds from the sublittoral zone up to and including damp areas on shore.Compare intertidal.
noun
a littoral region.
RELATED WORDS
aquatic, naval, maritime, coastal, seagoing, saltwater, deep-sea, marshy, seaside, beach, coast, seashore, border, bank, sand, seaboard, waterfront, riverbank, shore, shoreline
Nearby words
- littlest,
- littleton,
- littleton, sir thomas,
- littlewood,
- littlie,
- littoral warfare,
- littoria,
- littre's hernia,
- littré,
- littré, maximilien paul émile
Origin of littoral
1650–60; < Latin littorālis, variant of lītorālis of the shore, equivalent to lītor- (stem of lītus) shore + -ālis -al1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for littoral
littoral
/ (ˈlɪtərəl) /
adjective
of or relating to the shore of a sea, lake, or ocean
biology inhabiting the shore of a sea or lake or the shallow waters near the shorelittoral fauna
noun
a coastal or shore region
Word Origin for littoral
C17: from Late Latin littorālis, from lītorālis, from lītus shore
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
littoral
"pertaining to the seashore," 1650s, from Latin littoralis "of or belonging to the seashore," from litus (genitive litoris) "seashore" (cf. Lido), of unknown origin, possibly from PIE root *lei- "to flow." The noun is first recorded 1828, from Italian littorale, originally an adjective, from Latin littoralis.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
littoral
[ lĭt′ər-əl ]
Relating to the coastal zone between the limits of high and low tides. The littoral zone is subject to a wide range of environmental conditions, including high-energy wave action and intermittent periods of flooding and drying along with the associated fluctuations in exposure to solar radiation and extremes of temperature. Compare sublittoral.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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