Avalanches
/ˈæv.ə.læntʃɪz/noun
Large masses of snow, ice, and rock that suddenly slide down a mountain.
Did you know?The word comes from a Swiss French form tied to Latin words for ‘to descend,’ so the mountain disaster was named as a kind of unstoppable downward motion rather than a mystical force.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
ad- + vallis
“‘toward the valley’ or ‘down into the valley’”
Medieval Alpine Romance
Romance
*avalanche / *avalancia
“a mass of snow sliding down a mountain slope”
16th Century
French
avalanche
“a landslide or snow-slide in Alpine regions”
18th Century
English
avalanche
“a sudden fall of snow from a mountain; later, any overwhelming rush or downfall”
Modern English
English
avalanches
“plural of avalanche”