regolith

English

Irregular formation from Ancient Greek ῥῆγος (rhêgos, “rug, blanket”) +‎ -lith (from λίθος (líthos, “stone”)).

regolith (countable and uncountable, plural regoliths)

(geology) The layer of loose rock, dust, sand, and soil, resting on the bedrock, that constitutes the surface layer of most dry land on Earth, the Moon, and other large solid aggregated celestial objects. Submarine regolith also exists.
- 2023 April 25, Dhananjay Khadilkar, “Why scientists are making fake Moon dust”, in BBC‎^[1]:
  The soil sample, called LZS-1, is the latest in a list of lunar regolith simulants of varying quality that have been developed to help Nasa and other space agencies around the world prepare for missions to the Moon.

layer of loose rock that constitutes the surface of most land