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AVALANCHE (adopted from a French dial...

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 51 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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AVALANCHE (adopted from a French dialectic form, avalance, descent)

AVALANCHE (adopted from a See also:
FRENCH
FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)
French See also:
DIALECTIC, or DIALECTICS
dialectic See also:
FORM (Lat. forma)
form, avalance, descent) , a See also:

mass of See also:

SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow and See also:

ICE (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Eis)

ice mingled with See also:

earth and stones, which rushes down a See also:

mountain See also:

side, carrying everything before it, and producing a strong See also:

wind which uproots trees on each side of its course. Where the See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply of snow exceeds the loss by evaporation the surplus descends the mountain sides, slowly in the form of glaciers, or suddenly in ice-falls or in avalanches. A mass of snow may accumulate upon a steep slope and become compacted into ice by pressure, or remain loosely aggregated. When the See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation gives way, owing to the loosening effect of See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring rains or from any other cause, the whole mass slides downward. A very small cause will sometimes set a mass of overloaded snow in See also:

motion. See also:

THUNDER

Thunder or even a loud shout is said to produce this effect when the mass is just poised, and Swiss guides often enjoin See also:

ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute silence when See also:

CROSSING

crossing dangerous spots.

End of Article: AVALANCHE (adopted from a French dialectic form, avalance, descent)

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