seiche
[ seysh ]
/ seɪʃ /
Save This Word!
noun
an occasional and sudden oscillation of the water of a lake, bay, estuary, etc., producing fluctuations in the water level and caused by wind, earthquakes, changes in barometric pressure, etc.
QUIZZES
DO A DOUBLE TAKE ON THIS QUIZ ON CONTRONYMS
Look both ways before you take this quiz on contronyms, or words that can have opposite meanings.
Question 1 of 7
Choose the sentence that uses "rent" correctly.
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of seiche
Borrowed into English from Franco-Provençal around 1830–40
Words nearby seiche
Seguin, Segura, segway, Sehna knot, seicento, seiche, seidel, Seidlitz powder, Seidlitz powders, seif, seif dune
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for seiche
The Vilaine receives the Meu and the Seiche, which are both navigable.
Notwithstanding the strange, not to say grotesque, appearance of its beak, the Seiche is decidedly an interesting creature.
The Sea|Jules MicheletA seiche is a standing oscillation of a lake, usually in the direction of the longest diameter, but occasionally transverse.
Cenéle amus: salanaig buale ⁊ buicc brodnai ⁊ eóin erchoille ⁊ seiche corad.
The Triads of Ireland|Kuno Meyer
British Dictionary definitions for seiche
seiche
/ (seɪʃ) /
noun
a periodic oscillation of the surface of an enclosed or semienclosed body of water (lake, inland sea, bay, etc) caused by such phenomena as atmospheric pressure changes, winds, tidal currents, and earthquakes
Word Origin for seiche
C19: from Swiss French, first used to describe the rise and fall of water in Lake Geneva; of obscure origin
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
Scientific definitions for seiche
seiche
[ sāsh, sēch ]
An oscillating wave in an enclosed body of water. A seiche may have a period from a few minutes to a few hours and is usually a result of seismic or atmospheric disturbances.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.