avulsion

(ə vuls̸hən)

noun

  1. a separation by force
  2. Med. the tearing away of a structure or part by surgical traction or by accident
  3. a structure, part, etc. separated by force
  4. the sudden removal of a person's land by the action of water, as by flood or change in the course of a stream, without a resulting loss of ownership

Origin: L avulsio < a-, from + pp. of vellere, to pull: see revulsion

See avulsion in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. The forcible tearing away of a body part by trauma or surgery.
  2. The sudden movement of soil from one property to another as a result of a flood or a shift in the course of a boundary stream.

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