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Added 9 October 2026

avalanche

/ˈævəlɑːnʃ/ noun

Latin root: lābīna Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about avalanche at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.
A fall of earth, rocks, etc., similar to that of an avalanche of snow or ice.
A sudden, great, or irresistible descent or influx; anything like an avalanche in suddenness and overwhelming quantity.

verb

To descend like an avalanche.
To come down upon; to overwhelm.
The shelf broke and the boxes avalanched the workers.
To propel downward like an avalanche.

Origin

From French avalanche, from Franco-Provençal (Savoy) avalançhe, blend of aval (“downhill”) and standard lavençhe, from Vulgar Latin *labanka (compare Occitan lavanca, Italian valanga), of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Late Latin lābīna (“landslide”) (compare Franco-Provençal (Dauphiné) lavino, Romansh lavina), from Latin lābēs, from lābor (“to slip, slide”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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