moraine

mo·raine
M3O1R1A1I1N1E1
UK/məˈɹeɪn/UK/mɒˈɹeɪn/

noun

An accumulation of rocks and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.

Less commonScrabble 9

Meanings

nounmoraine (plural moraines)

plural moraines

  1. geographyAn accumulation of rocks and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.

    Moraines that originate along the lateral margins of an ice stream are naturally called lateral moraines. Many lateral moraines perch high on the walls of glaciated valleys.

    1997, Robert Phillip Sharp, Allen F. Glazner, “Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley”, in Mountain, Press Publishing, page 241
    3 more examples

    1896, James Edward Todd, The Moraines of the Missouri Coteau, and Their Attendant Deposits, US Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 144, page 47, This fact is suggestive in connection with the question whether the moraines mark different epochs of the ice age or different stages in the recession of the ice of one epoch. This moraine, like the previous ones, influenced the drainage of the country. Several streams have evidently been located or directed by the influence of this moraine.

    Prof. Dainelli made a personal study of the lakes of the Upper Indus lying between its confluence with the Gilgit on the west and the plains of Kashmir on the east. From this district he cites fifty lakes and groups of lakes. Many of these are moraine-dammed, but some of the larger ones, as the Satpor Tso, the Tso Moriri, the Chiun Tso, and the group of lakes associated with the Pángong Tso, he considers to have originated by glacial excavation.

    1924 March, E. J. Garwood, “Himalayan Glaciation”, in The Geographical Journal, volume LXIII, number 3, London: Royal Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 244

    1959, Robert David Miller, Ernest Dobrovolny, Surficial Geology of Anchorage and Vicinity, Alaska, US Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 1093, page 61, Whether this advance beyond the Elmendorf Moraine is a pre-Naptowne Wisconsin or is merely a fluctuation of the Naptowne glacier that deposited the end moraine is unclear.

Origin

  1. Vulgar Latin*murrum
  2. Franco-Provençalmor
  3. Italianmorena
  4. Frenchmoraine
  5. Englishmoraine

From French moraine, from Savoyard Italian morena, from Franco-Provençal mor, morre (“muzzle, snout”), from Vulgar Latin *murrum. Compare morion.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans morene
  • moreneaccumulation of rocks and debris
Basque morrena
  • morrenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Bengali গ্রাবরেখা
  • গ্রাবরেখা (grabrekha)accumulation of rocks and debris
Bulgarian морена
  • морена (morena)accumulation of rocks and debris
Catalan morrena, morena
  • morrenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
  • morenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
  • claperaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Chinese Mandarin 冰磧 /冰碛
  • 冰磧 /冰碛 (bīngqì)accumulation of rocks and debris
Czech moréna
  • morénaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Danish moræne
  • moræneaccumulation of rocks and debris
Dutch morene
  • moreneaccumulation of rocks and debris
Esperanto moreno
  • morenoaccumulation of rocks and debris
Estonian moreen
  • moreenaccumulation of rocks and debris
Finnish moreeni
  • moreeniaccumulation of rocks and debris
French moraine
  • moraineaccumulation of rocks and debris
German Moräne
  • Moräneaccumulation of rocks and debris
Greek λιθώνας, μοραίνη
  • λιθώνας (lithónas)accumulation of rocks and debris
  • μοραίνη (moraíni)accumulation of rocks and debris
Hebrew מוֹרֶנָה
  • מוֹרֶנָה (morena)accumulation of rocks and debris
Hungarian moréna
  • morénaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Icelandic jökulgarður
  • jökulgarðuraccumulation of rocks and debris
Irish moiréan
  • moiréanaccumulation of rocks and debris
Italian morena
  • morenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Japanese モレーン
  • モレーン (morēn)accumulation of rocks and debris
Korean 빙퇴석, 모레인
  • 빙퇴석 (bingtoeseok)accumulation of rocks and debris
  • 모레인 (morein)accumulation of rocks and debris
Latin morēna
  • morēnaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Latvian morēna
  • morēnaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Lithuanian morena
  • morenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Malay morain
  • morainaccumulation of rocks and debris
Norwegian Bokmål morene
  • moreneaccumulation of rocks and debris
Persian یخرفت
  • یخرفتaccumulation of rocks and debris
Polish morena
  • morenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Portuguese morena
  • morenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Romanian morenă
  • morenăaccumulation of rocks and debris
Russian море́на
  • море́на (moréna)accumulation of rocks and debris
Slovak moréna
  • morénaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Spanish morrena
  • morrenaaccumulation of rocks and debris
Swedish morän
  • moränaccumulation of rocks and debris
Tamil மொரைன்கள்
  • மொரைன்கள் (moraiṉkaḷ)accumulation of rocks and debris
Turkish moren
  • morenaccumulation of rocks and debris
Ukrainian море́на
  • море́на (moréna)accumulation of rocks and debris

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with moraine

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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