fluviation

English

Etymology

From Latin fluviātiō, from fluviātus (“fluviated”) + -iō (“-tion: forming abstract nouns”), from fluvius (“river”) + -ātus (“-ate: forming adjectives”) as if from a verb fluviō. Equivalent to fluviated +‎ -tion.

Noun

fluviation (usually uncountable, plural fluviations)

1. (geology) Deposition of silt etc. by the action of a river or stream.
2. (obsolete) Preparation of flax by soaking it in a stream.
   • 1683, Thomas Browne, Certain Miscellany Tracts, page 54:

     This was the first preparation of Flax, and before fluviation or rotting.

References

• “† fluviation, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2023.