alluvion

American  

[uh-loo-vee-uhn] / əˈlu vi ən /

noun

1. Law. a gradual increase of land on a shore or a river bank by the action of water, whether from natural or artificial causes.

2. overflow; flood.

3. Now Rare. alluvium.

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alluvion British  

/ əˈluːvɪən /

noun

1. 1. the wash of the sea or of a river

   2. an overflow or flood

   3. matter deposited as sediment; alluvium

2. law the gradual formation of new land, as by the recession of the sea or deposit of sediment on a riverbed

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Etymology

Origin of alluvion

1530–40; < Latin alluviōn- (stem of alluviō an overflowing), equivalent to al- al- + -luv-, base of -luere, combining form of lavere to wash) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The land is an alluvion of no very ancient formation.

From The Quadroon Adventures in the Far West by Reid, Mayne

The hoof of my horse no longer sinks in light sand or dark alluvion.

From The Rifle Rangers by Reid, Mayne

Such is the sylva that covers the alluvion of Louisiana.

From The Quadroon Adventures in the Far West by Reid, Mayne

The cypress begins near the mouth of the Ohio and spreads through the alluvion portions of the Lower Valley.

From A New Guide for Emigrants to the West by Peck, John Mason

The alluvion between these rivers, protected from inundation by levees along the streams, is divided by many bayous, of which the Tensas, with its branch the Macon, is the most important.

From Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences of the Late War by Taylor, Richard