Wiktionary

detritus

See also: détritus

English

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Etymology

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From Latin dētrītus (“(that which is) rubbed away”), from dēterō (“rub away”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /dɪˈtɹaɪ.təs/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪtəs

Noun

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detritus (usually uncountable, plural detritus or (rare) detrita)

  1. (countable, chiefly geology) Pieces of rock broken off by ice, glacier, or erosion.
  2. (biology, ecology) Organic waste material from decomposing dead plants or animals.
    • 2009, Christian Wirth, Gerd Gleixner, Martin Heimann, Old-Growth Forests: Function, Fate and Value, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 159:
      Woody detritus is an important component of forested ecosystems. It can reduce erosion and affects soil development, stores nutrients and water, provides a major source of energy and nutrients, and serves as a seedbed for plants and as a major habitat for decomposers and hetereotrophs.
  3. (by extension) Any debris or fragments of disintegrated material.
    • 2001, Chip Kidd, The Cheese Monkeys:
      But of course: no clutter. No newspapers, no renegade scraps of domestic detritus, no rubber bands, paper clips, coupons, pens or pencils, notebooks, magazines. No knives. Where were the knives?
    • 2022 September 7, Tom Allett, “At the cutting edge of NR's track work”, in RAIL, number 965, page 39:
      The cutting head removes any chips out of the railhead and restores the required surface shape. The trains also clear up their own detritus as they travel. Neither milling chips nor grinding dust remain on the track.
  4. Rock consisting of accumulated debris from decayed rocks, like sand, that often is joined by cement.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further reading

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Latin

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Etymology

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From dēterō (“rub away”), from dē (“away”) + terō (“rub”).

Pronunciation

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Participle

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dētrītus (feminine dētrīta, neuter dētrītum); first/second-declension participle

  1. rubbed away, worn away, worn out, having been rubbed away
  2. (figuratively) diminished in force, lessened, weakened, impaired, having been weakened
  3. (figuratively) worn out, trite, hackneyed, having been worn out

Declension

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First/second-declension adjective.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative dētrītus dētrīta dētrītum dētrītī dētrītae dētrīta
Genitive dētrītī dētrītae dētrītī dētrītōrum dētrītārum dētrītōrum
Dative dētrītō dētrītō dētrītīs
Accusative dētrītum dētrītam dētrītum dētrītōs dētrītās dētrīta
Ablative dētrītō dētrītā dētrītō dētrītīs
Vocative dētrīte dētrīta dētrītum dētrītī dētrītae dētrīta

Noun

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dētrītus m (genitive dētrītūs); fourth declension

  1. The act of rubbing away

Declension

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Fourth-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative dētrītus dētrītūs
Genitive dētrītūs dētrītuum
Dative dētrītuī dētrītibus
Accusative dētrītum dētrītūs
Ablative dētrītū dētrītibus
Vocative dētrītus dētrītūs
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Descendants

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References

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  • “detritus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “detritus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • detritus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French détritus, from Latin detritus.

Noun

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detritus n (uncountable)

  1. detritus

Declension

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declension of detritus (singular only)
singular
n gender indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) detritus detritusul
genitive/dative (unui) detritus detritusului
vocative detritusule

Spanish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin dētrītus.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /deˈtɾitus/ [d̪eˈt̪ɾi.t̪us]
  • Rhymes: -itus
  • Syllabification: de‧tri‧tus

Noun

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detritus m (plural detritus)

  1. detritus

Derived terms

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Further reading

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