groyne
/ɡɹɔɪn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.50 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An often wooden structure that projects from a coastline to prevent erosion, longshore drift etc.; a breakwater.
Example Sentences
- "Old rail and timber groynes will be erected along the beach to trap shingle moved by coastwise drift, and to rebuild the protection to the toe of the embankment."
- "Our assimilation into one another had been beautifully timed, with each little revelation of unpleasantness acting as a modest baffler, a groyne to our mutual inundation. Now all of this was going to be flooded, drenched in poisonous ichor."
Etymology
From Middle English groyn (“snout”), from Old French groign, from Late Latin grunium, grunia, from Latin grunnire (“grunt like a pig”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: groyn, groign, grunium, grunnire