guelta

G2U1E1L1T1A1

noun

A pool of water, especially in Africa or Arabia, fed by an oasis (spring) or left behind when a wadi (arroyo, seasonal river) runs dry.

OriginArabic قَلْتَة →
Scrabble 7
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Meanings

nounguelta (plural gueltas)

plural gueltas

  1. A pool of water, especially in Africa or Arabia, fed by an oasis (spring) or left behind when a wadi (arroyo, seasonal river) runs dry.

    Winter or summer, the guelta never went away, even in a drought. It was fed by an underground spring that sent a constant lazy stream of bubbles to the surface.

    2001, David Ball, Empires of Sand: A Novel, page 376

Origin

  1. Arabicقَلْتَة
  2. Englishguelta

From Arabic قَلْتَة (qalta).

More words from Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Tugelategula
Cite this entry
APA

guelta. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guelta

MLA

“guelta.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guelta. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “guelta,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guelta.

Source: guelta on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.