Detritus \De*tri"tus\, n. [F. d['e]tritus, fr. L. detritus, p.
p. of deterere. See Detriment.]
1. (Geol.) A mass of substances worn off from solid bodies by
attrition, and reduced to small portions; as, diluvial
detritus.
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Note: For large portions, the word d['e]bris is used.
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2. Hence: Any fragments separated from the body to which they
belonged; any product of disintegration.
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The mass of detritus of which modern languages are
composed. --Farrar.
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Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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65 Moby Thesaurus words for "detritus":
afterglow, afterimage, alluvion, alluvium, balance, breccia, butt,
butt end, candle ends, chaff, debris, deposit, diluvium, drift,
end, fag end, filings, fossil, grain, granule, granulet, gravel,
grit, holdover, husks, leavings, leftovers, loess, moraine,
odds and ends, offscourings, orts, parings, rags, refuse, relics,
remainder, remains, remnant, residue, residuum, rest, roach,
rubbish, ruins, rump, sand, sawdust, scourings, scraps, scree,
sediment, shadow, shavings, shingle, silt, sinter, straw, stubble,
stump, survival, sweepings, trace, vestige, waste
Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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