Meanings
plural palsas
- geographyA hummock rising out of a bog with a core of ice; similar in appearance to a pingo but due to different structure palsas cannot grow as big as pingos.
These basin bogs are generally associated with Picea mariana or are treeless. Species in these wetlands are similar to those found in other palsas in Canada.
2013 March 9, Dennis F. Whigham, D. Dykyjová, S. Hejný, Wetlands of the World I: Inventory, Ecology and Management, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 4801 more example
Peat plateaux are larger landforms formed by the coalescence of palsas. String bogs, also called patterned fens, occur in muskeg. They are alternations of thin, string-like strips or ridges of peat, mainly Sphagnum moss, which may[…]
2003, Richard J. Huggett, Fundamentals of Geomorphology, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 244
Origin
- Northern Samibalsa
- Finnishpalsa
- Englishpalsa
From Finnish palsa, from Northern Sami balsa.
More words from Finnish, Northern Sami
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish palsa
- palsahummock rising out of a bog
French palse
- palsehummock rising out of a bog
Polish bugier mrozowy, bugor
- bugier mrozowyhummock rising out of a bog
- bugorhummock rising out of a bog
- palsahummock rising out of a bog
Swedish pals
- palshummock rising out of a bog
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
palsa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palsa
“palsa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palsa. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “palsa,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palsa.
Source: palsa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.