After the heavy rains last week, the improved waterway in Sunningdale Nature Park left some detritus on the rocks of the expanded banks. The few times the water surged through the channels in the park, the level rose to the tops of the large stones laid on the embankments and deposited debris caught in the rocks as the water receded.
Detritus comes from a geological term meaning loose material that results from disintegration of rock fragments or organic material. The ridge is overlain by deposited glacial materials in the form of terminal moraines and other detritus.
The word was first used in English in 1802 by geologists. It is derived from the Latin detritus (from deterere) meaning wearing away. Terere, in Latin, means to rub away. Detritus came to mean any product of disintegration, destruction or wearing away. The detritus in the park came from trees, bushes, and slough greenery, but also included, unfortunately, garbage that had been left in the area.
Detritus has acquired the meaning of miscellaneous remnants. The homeowners were still picking up the detritus from the block party four days later. Archeologists can spend a lifetime at one tell unearthing the detritus of an ancient civilization. She spent years of psychoanalysis sifting through the detritus of her childhood. As he emerged out of his depression, he was determined not to dwell on the detritus of the failed relationship with his former spouse.
When you pronounce the word detritus remember to stress the second syllable, as you would do with the words arthritis and bronchitis. For some reason, most people often accent the first syllable rather than the second.
Synonyms of detritus can be debris, flotsam, remains, residue and rubble.
In geological terms debris means an accumulation of fragments of rock. Outside of geology, debris refers to the remains of something broken down or destroyed. The volunteers spent many hours digging through the storm's debris in search of survivors.
Flotsam implies the floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo. After the hurricane a lot of flotsam washed up on the shore of the island. Flotsam can also be used to indicate miscellaneous or unimportant material. His school notebook was filled with doodles and flotsam rather than copious notes.
Remains means whatever is left over or behind. It is usually used in the plural. When she arrived home all that was left on the table were the remains of the supper meal. Remains can also refer to a dead body. Authorities said the area where the remains were discovered was heavily wooded.
Residue suggests something that is left after a part is taken, separated, or after the completion of a process. After the satisfaction of all debts, charges, allowances, and previous devises and bequests, the residue of the estate was $100. I clean my barbecue grill to remove any residue from the meat that was cooked before putting the cover back on it. I washed and rewashed the kitchen floor to try to remove some kind of sticky residue.
Rubble is the broken fragments resulting from the decay or destruction of a building. Whenever I see scenes from The Gaza Strip the shots are filled with rubble from the Israeli attack.
Wreckage implies broken and disordered parts or material from something shattered or destroyed. After the ship hit the bridge, it took months for the workers to clean 50,000 tons of bridge wreckage.
After the first hard freeze of fall, gardens are littered with the detritus of summer’s plants and produce: stalks, leaves, and vines. Flood-swollen rivers leave detritus on the shore when the waters finally subside. The detritus of ancient civilizations include junkyards and abandoned buildings. Drifting detritus in space threatens both current satellites and our ability to put new ones into orbit.
Many friends do not like to play Trivial Pursuit with me. They would claim my head is full of the mental detritus of useless trivia. LOL
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
