littoral
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littoral
- /ˈlɪtəɹəl/
Sounds like literal
Where it comes from
From Late Latin littoralis, from litoris (genitive of litus). The doubled 't' is a late medieval addition, and the more classical litoral is also sometimes found. Cognate to French littoral, Spanish litoral, Portuguese litoral, and more distantly to English lido (“outdoor pool”), via Italian lido (“beach, shore”).
adjective litoral
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Of or relating to the shore, especially the seashore.
The deep-sea fauna has probably been formed almost entirely from the littoral, not in the remotest antiquity, but only after food derived from the débris of the littoral and terrestrial faunas and floras became abundant.
Similar: intertidal, maritime
noun littorals · litoral
- A shore, coastline, or coast. […] these Chams belonged to the Malay-Polynesian group and their distribution along the littoral suggests that they were invaders from the sea […]
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The zone of a coast between high tide and low tide levels.
The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity.
Similar: intertidal zone, foreshore, littoral range
Translations
Talk about this word "littoral." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/littoral. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. littoral. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/littoral "littoral." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/littoral.Cite this
@misc{littoral_2026,
title = {littoral},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/littoral},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
