Meanings
nounforearc (plural forearcs)
plural forearcs
- geographyA region of raised rock debris which forms between the subduction zone and any associated volcano or volcanic chain.
These offshore Sonoman mountains likely formed an orogenic (mountainous) barrier to moisture inland, resulting in a mountain-shadow onshore desert punctuated by regional annual and large basin perennial streams draining into a forearc saline sea.
2012, Chinle Miller, “The Tectonic Forces of the Mesozoic”, in In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition, page 34
Origin
- Englishfore-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂erkʷ-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂erkʷos
- Proto-Italic*arkuos
- Latinarcus
- Old Frencharc
- Middle Englishark
- Englisharc
- Englishforearc
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
forearc. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forearc
MLA
“forearc.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forearc. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forearc,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forearc.
Source: forearc on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.