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Webster 1913 Edition
Moraine
Mo-raine′
,Noun.
[F. Cf. Prov. G.
mur
stones broken off, It. mora
a heap of stones, hillock, G. mürbe
soft, broken up, OHG. muruwi
, AS. mearu
tender, Gr. [GREEK] to cause to wither, Skr. mlā
to relax.] (Geol.)
An accumulation of earth and stones carried forward and deposited by a glacier.
Lyell.
☞ If the moraine is at the extremity of the glacier it is a terminal moraine; if at the side, a lateral moraine; if parallel to the side on the central portion of the glacier, a medial moraine. See Illust. of
Glacier
. In the last case it is formed by the union of the lateral moraines of the branches of the glacier. A ground moraine is one beneath the mass of ice.