avalanche
Contents |
English [edit]
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Etymology [edit]
From French, from Franco-Provençal (Savoy) avalançhe, blend of aval ‘downhill’ and standard lavençhe, from Vulgar Latin *labanka (cf. Occitan lavanca, Italian valanga), alteration of Late Latin labina ‘landslide’ (cf. Franco-Provençal (Dauphiné) lavino, Romansch lavina), from Latin labi ‘to slip, slide’.
Pronunciation [edit]
- (RP) IPA: /ˈævəlɑːnʃ/, X-SAMPA: /'{v@lA:nS/
- (US) IPA: /ˈævəlæntʃ/, X-SAMPA: /'{v@l{ntS/
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Audio (US) (file)
Noun [edit]
avalanche (plural avalanches)
- A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.
- A fall of earth, rocks, etc., similar to that of an avalanche of snow or ice.
- A sudden, great, or irresistible descent or influx of anything.
- Anything like an avalanche in suddenness and overwhelming quantity (like a barrage, blitz, etc).
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
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Verb [edit]
avalanche (third-person singular simple present avalanches, present participle avalanching, simple past and past participle avalanched)
- (intransitive) To descend like an avalanche.
- (transitive) To come down upon; to overwhelm.
- The shelf broke and the boxes avalanched the workers.
Translations [edit]
External links [edit]
- avalanche in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- avalanche in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
French [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Franco-Provençal (Savoy) avalançhe, blend of aval ‘downhill’ and standard lavençhe, from Vulgar Latin *labanka (cf. Occitan lavanca, Italian valanga), alteration of Late Latin labina ‘landslide’ (cf. Franco-Provençal (Dauphiné) lavino, Romansch lavina), from Latin labi ‘to slip, slide’.
Pronunciation [edit]
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Audio (file)
Noun [edit]
avalanche f (plural avalanches)
Portuguese [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From French
Noun [edit]
avalanche f (plural avalanches)
Synonyms [edit]
- Webster 1913
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Franco-Provençal
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English nouns
- English verbs
- en:Snow
- French terms derived from Franco-Provençal
- French terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- French terms derived from Late Latin
- French nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French countable nouns
- fr:Snow
- Portuguese terms derived from French
- Portuguese nouns
