seiche

American  

[seysh] / seɪʃ /

noun

1. 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.

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seiche British  

/ seɪʃ /

noun

1. 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

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seiche Scientific  

/ sāsh,sēch /

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of seiche

Borrowed into English from Franco-Provençal around 1830–40

Example Sentences

Scientists estimate the waves, known as a seiche, were nearly 2 feet high.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024

“The earthquake causes what’s called a seismic seiche, and it’s basically a sloshing of the water back and forth.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2019

They would have continued to fall as the seiche waves rolled in and out, depositing layer upon layer of sediment and each time sealing the tektites in place.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 29, 2019

This video shows a seiche generated in a swimming pool by an earthquake in Nepal in 2015.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Cenéle amus: salanaig buale ⁊ buicc brodnai ⁊ eóin erchoille ⁊ seiche corad. cenela BM buale om.

From The Triads of Ireland by Meyer, Kuno

Related Words

• tsunami