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erosion

ero·sion

UK/ɪˈɹəʊʒən/ US/ɪˈɹoʊʒən/ uncommon

noun

1.
2.

condition in which the earth''s surface is worn away by the action of water and wind

3.

a gradual decline of something

  • “after the accounting scandal there was an erosion of confidence in the auditors”
4.

Origin

From Middle French erosion, from Latin ērōsiō (“eating away”), derived from ērōdō. The first known occurrence in English was in the 1541 translation by Robert Copland of Guy de Chauliac's medical text The Questyonary of Cyrurygens. Copland used erosion to describe how ulcers developed in the mouth. By 1774 erosion was used outside medical subjects. Oliver Goldsmith employed the term in the more contemporary geological context, in his book Natural History, with the quote : "Bounds are thus put to the erosion of the earth by water."

Phrases

  • accelerated erosion
  • mechanical erosion
  • phonetic erosion
  • rill erosion
  • sheet erosion
  • splash erosion
  • trademark erosion

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.