- silt
- mid-15c., originally "sediment deposited by seawater," probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch silte, sulte "salt marsh, brine," related to Old English sealt, Old High German sulza "saltwater," German Sulze "brine" (see salt). The verb meaning "to become choked with silt" (of river channels, harbors, etc.) is attested from 1799.