surficial C2+ Topic:Nature & Landscape US /sɝˈfɪʃəl/ UK /səˈfɪʃəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj of or relating to the surface, especially the earth's surface in geology The survey mapped the surficial deposits of glacial gravel. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · of or relating to the... superficialsurfaceexternaloutershallow ↔ Opposites deepsubsurfaceinternal Word family Derived forms surficially Related forms surfacesuperficial Etymology AI details A modern geological coinage from surface (from Old French surface, from sur- 'above' + face, from Latin facies) modeled on superficial, with the suffix -ial. surface Middle French facies Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Nature & Landscape Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # surficial **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /sɝˈfɪʃəl/ **IPA (UK):** /səˈfɪʃəl/ ## Meanings 1. of or relating to the surface, especially the earth's surface in geology ## Examples - The survey mapped the surficial deposits of glacial gravel. ## Synonyms - superficial - surface - external - outer - shallow ## Antonyms - deep - subsurface - internal ## Derived Forms - surficially ## Related Forms - surface - superficial ## Roots and Affixes - Root: surface - Root: facies ## Etymology A modern geological coinage from surface (from Old French surface, from sur- 'above' + face, from Latin facies) modeled on superficial, with the suffix -ial. ## AI Etymology Surficial is a modern geological coinage from surface (from Old French surface, from sur- 'above' + face, from Latin facies) modeled on superficial, with the suffix -ial. Important recorded forms include surface (Old French) and facies (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers of or relating to the surface, especially the earth's surface in geology. The wider family includes derived forms such as surficially and related words such as surface and superficial. ## Topics - Nature & Landscape - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown