nival

English

Etymology

From Latin nivalis, from nix, nivis (“snow”).

Adjective

nival (comparative more nival, superlative most nival)

1. Abounding with snow; snowy; snow-covered (now especially in reference to plant habitats).

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)

   • 2003, Laszlo Nagy, Georg Grabherr, Christian Körner, Desmond B.A. Thompson, Alpine Biodiversity in Europe, Springer Science & Business Media (→ISBN), page 406:

     The observed climate warming during the twentieth century has affected alpine vegetation by increasing vascular plant species richness on nival mountain tops […]

   • 2002, Mountain Research and Development:

     It includes the nival mountain top, the moorlands above the timberline, a belt of tropical rainforest, the semihumid footzone of the tertiary volcano, the semiarid high Laikipia Plateau, the escarpment, and the semiarid to arid Samburu Plains.

   • 1971, Meteorological and Geoastrophysical Abstracts, volume 22, issues 1-6, page 447:

     In this way, the subnival mountain range on the southern facet with its strong solifluction influence (level slope formation) approaches in height the nival mountain range on the northern facet, which is distinguished by its well developed glacial forms.

2. (botany) Found or thriving in snowy conditions.
   • 1914, The Journal of Ecology, page 60:

     In 1884 O. Heer published a comprehensive account of the nival flora of Switzerland, in which he listed 338 species of flowering plants found above 2600 m.; of these, 6 were found above 3900 m.

   • 2013, Rosa Margesin, Franz Schinner, Cold-Adapted Organisms: Ecology, Physiology, Enzymology and Molecular Biology, Springer Science & Business Media (→ISBN), page 165:

     As can be seen from the present chapter, main problems of adaptation, ecophysiology, ecology and evolutionary biology of the nival fauna were hardly investigated at all.” The early history of explorations of the nival zone in the Alps has been summarized […]

References

• “nival”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Alvin, Lavin, Vilna, anvil, vinal

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French

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin nivalis, from nix.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

nival (feminine nivale, masculine plural nivaux, feminine plural nivales)

1. (attributively) snow

Related terms

• névé
• neige
• nivéal (adjective)
• nivologie

Further reading

• “nival”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niˈvaːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

nival (not comparable)

1. nival

Derived terms

• subnival

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Spanish

Adjective

nival m or f (masculine and feminine plural nivales)

1. snow; snow