meltwater-formed
|melt-wat-er-formed|
🇺🇸
/ˈmɛltˌwɔtɚ fɔrmd/
🇬🇧
/ˈmɛltˌwɔːtə fɔːmd/
shaped by melting water
Etymology
'meltwater-formed' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'meltwater' and the past participle 'formed.' 'Melt' ultimately goes back to Old English 'meltan' meaning 'to cause to become liquid,' and 'water' from Old English 'wæter' meaning 'water.'
'melt' (Old English 'meltan') combined with 'water' to create 'meltwater' in later Middle and Modern English; adding the past-participle adjective 'formed' produced the descriptive compound 'meltwater-formed' in technical or descriptive usage.
Initially, 'melt' and 'meltwater' referred specifically to the process and product of melting; combined as 'meltwater-formed' the phrase has retained the literal meaning 'shaped by meltwater' and is used descriptively for landforms and features.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
formed or shaped by meltwater (water produced from melting snow or ice), especially referring to landforms or channels carved by seasonal or glacial melt.
The valley is meltwater-formed, with numerous channels carved by seasonal runoff from the glacier.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/30 07:49