littoral
/ˈlɪtəɹəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.69 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or relating to the shore, especially the seashore.
Example Sentences
- "The deep-sea fauna has probably been formed almost entirely from the littoral, not in the remotest antiquity, but only after food derived from the débris of the littoral and terrestrial faunas and floras became abundant."
- "[…] these Chams belonged to the Malay-Polynesian group and their distribution along the littoral suggests that they were invaders from the sea […]"
- "The railway running along the littoral from Brighton westward to Portsmouth forms an important section of the L.B.S.C.R. (Central) secion of the Southern Railway."
- "More than sixty per centum of the population of Australia is settled in the States along whose littoral the Lyrebird ranges[.]"
- "Just beyond the locomotive depot is the junction of the Anecho line, which curves sharply eastwards. It runs for the whole way along the flat, sandy littoral among coconut plantations, usually a mile or so inland."
- "The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity."
Etymology
From Late Latin littoralis, from litoris (genitive of litus). The doubled 't' is a late medieval addition, and the more classical litoral is also sometimes found. Cognate to French littoral, Spanish litoral, Portuguese litoral, and more distantly to English lido (“outdoor pool”), via Italian lido (“beach, shore”).