detritus (redirected from detritus cysts)

de·tri·tus  (d-trts)

n. pl. detritus

1. Loose fragments or grains that have been worn away from rock.

2.

a. Disintegrated or eroded matter: the detritus of past civilizations.

b. Accumulated material; debris: "Poems, engravings, press releaseshe eagerly scrutinizes the detritus of fame" (Carlin Romano).

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[French détritus, from Latin dtrtus, from past participle of dterere, to lessen, wear away; see detriment.]

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de·trital (-trtl) adj.

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detritus [dit-trite-uss]

Noun

1. a loose mass of stones and silt worn away from rocks

2. debris [Latin: a rubbing away]

detrital adj

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detritus  (d-trts)

1. Loose fragments, such as sand or gravel, that have been worn away from rock.

2. Matter produced by the decay or disintegration of an organic substance.

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Detritus an accumulation of debris; any waste or disintegrated material. See also debris.

Examples: detritus of languages, 1851; of ruins, 1866; of loose stones, 1851; loose detritus of thought, 1849.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	detritus - the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up debris, junk, rubble, dust rubbish, trash, scrap - worthless material that is to be disposed of slack - dust consisting of a mixture of small coal fragments and coal dust and dirt that sifts out when coal is passed over a sieve
	2.	detritus - loose material (stone fragments and silt etc) that is worn away from rocks material, stuff - the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object; "coal is a hard black material"; "wheat is the stuff they use to make bread"