littoral

Meanings

1. 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. 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.

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