Detritus
/dɪˈtraɪ.təs/noun
Loose fragments or waste material worn or broken off by erosion or disintegration.
Did you know?Detritus comes from Latin detritus, the past participle of deterere, meaning “to rub away,” so the word itself is built from the idea of slow erosion, not sudden destruction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ter-
“to rub, rub through, wear away”
Latin
Latin
terere
“to rub, grind, wear”
Latin
Latin
deterere
“to rub away, wear down”
Latin
Latin
detritus
“rubbed away; worn off”
16th–17th Century
English
detritus
“worn-off material; debris or residue”
Modern English
English
detritus
“loose debris or accumulated waste material”