landfall

See also: Landfall

English

Etymology

From land +‎ fall.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlænd.fɔːl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlænd.fɔl/, /ˈlænd.fɑl/

Noun

landfall (countable and uncountable, plural landfalls)

1. An arrival at the shore by a ship, or sighting of the shore from a ship.

   We made landfall at the most god-forsaken, barren, desolate, and hellish location possible to image; and we were grateful, anything to get off that ship!

   Lighthouses are usually the first aids seen when making landfall.

   • 1986 February 15, Patricia Clark Smith, “A Fresh Wind in the Museum: The Sacred Hoop”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 39, page B7:

     old stereotypes about American Indian culture that non-Indians have been creating and collecting since Columbus' landfall.

2. The point at which a hurricane or similar storm reaches land.
3. (obsolete) The first land discovered after a sea voyage.
4. A landslip.

Derived terms

• make landfall

Translations

arrival of a ship at the shore

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 登陆 (zh) (dēnglù)

• Czech: přistání (cs) n
• Finnish: rantautuminen (fi)
• German: Landung (de) f
• Hungarian: partot érés
• Irish: teacht i dtír m
• Italian: approdo (it) m, attracco (it) m
• Māori: ūnga, ūnga ki uta
• Scottish Gaelic: fradharc-tìre m
• Spanish: recalada (es) f, aterrada (es) f, arribada (es) f, arribaje (es) m
• Swedish: angöring (sv)

place at which a storm reaches the land

• Finnish: rantautumispaikka
• Italian: il toccare terra m, raggiungere la terraferma

First land discovered after a sea voyage

• Māori: kitenga whenua