Riverbed
/ˈrɪv.ər.bɛd/noun
The bottom of a river channel.
Did you know?“Riverbed” is a transparent compound of Old English roots, and its second half, *bed*, comes from the same ancient word family that gave English the idea of a place to lie down — so a riverbed is basically a river’s bed.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
rīfer + bedd
“river + bed, a place where water lies”
Middle English
ME
riverebed
“a river’s bottom or channel”
Modern English
English
riverbed
“the bottom of a river channel”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰedʰ-
“to lie down, sleep”