loess

loess Definition

lo·ess (lō′es′; also les, lus)

noun

a fine-grained, yellowish-brown, extremely fertile loam deposited mainly by the wind and found widely in North America, Asia, and Europe

Etymology: Ger löss, arbitrary use of dial. lösch, loose < base of lösen, to loosen: for IE base see lose

loess Related Forms

lo·ess′·ial (lō es′ē əl) adjective

loess Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

Chinese: Age models, sediment fluxes and palaeoclimatic reconstructions for the Chinese loess and palaeosol sequences.

Modifies a noun

deposit: Good stands of this vegetation type are found on extensive loess deposits.
soil: Loess soil fine silt evidence of climatic change; cold dry climate.
plateau: The onto a higher level of the loess plateau to see the gullies and the cave houses ( photo ).
meeting: Registration for the low-latitude loess meeting to be held on Lanzarote is now available online here.

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