littoral

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈlɪtərəl/ UK /ˈlɪtərəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #149583

Meanings

1

adj
relating to the shore of a sea or lake, especially the zone between or near water-level limits

The survey recorded crabs and algae throughout the littoral zone.
2

noun
the shore region of a sea or lake, considered as a geographic or ecological zone

Pollution altered the plants and animals of the rocky littoral.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · relating to the shore of a... coastalshorelineintertidal

2 noun · the shore region of a sea... shorelittoral zonecoastal zone

Opposites

inland offshore pelagic

Word family

Derived forms sublittoralsupralittoral

Related forms coast shore intertidallido

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

littoral zone
the area along the shore of a lake or sea

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Littoral, recorded from the mid-17th century, derives from Latin litus, meaning “shore.” The Italian descendant lido has the same source.

Etymology

From Late Latin littoralis, 'of the shore,' from Latin litus, genitive litoris, 'shore.' The doubled t is a medieval spelling; litoral remains a rare variant. Lido is a distant relative borrowed through Italian from the same Latin shore word.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# littoral

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈlɪtərəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈlɪtərəl/
**Frequency rank:** 149583

## Meanings
1. relating to the shore of a sea or lake, especially the zone between or near water-level limits
2. the shore region of a sea or lake, considered as a geographic or ecological zone

## Examples
- The survey recorded crabs and algae throughout the littoral zone.
- Pollution altered the plants and animals of the rocky littoral.

## Synonyms
- coastal
- shoreline
- intertidal
- shore
- coastal zone

## Antonyms
- inland
- offshore
- pelagic

## Derived Forms
- sublittoral
- supralittoral

## Related Forms
- coast
- shore
- intertidal
- lido

## Etymology
From Late Latin littoralis, 'of the shore,' from Latin litus, genitive litoris, 'shore.' The doubled t is a medieval spelling; litoral remains a rare variant. Lido is a distant relative borrowed through Italian from the same Latin shore word.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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