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silt (n.)
mid-15c., "fine sand or sediment deposited by seawater," probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian and Danish sylt "salt marsh," Old Swedish sylta "mud"), or from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch silte, sulte "salt marsh, brine," from Proto-Germanic *sultjo- (source also of Old English sealt, Old High German sulza "saltwater," German Sulze "brine"), from PIE root *sal- "salt."
The general sense of "mud or fine soil from running or standing water" is by 1690s.
updated on October 27, 2022
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Dictionary entries near silt
silliness
silly
silo
Siloam
silphium
silt
Silurian
silvan
silver
silver bullet
silver lining