seiche

[ seysh ]
/ seɪʃ /

noun

an occasional and sudden oscillation of the water of a lake, bay, estuary, etc., producing fluctuations in the water level and caused by wind, earthquakes, changes in barometric pressure, etc.

Origin of seiche

Borrowed into English from Franco-Provençal around 1830–40

Example sentences from the Web for seiche

British Dictionary definitions for seiche

seiche
/ (seɪʃ) /

noun

a periodic oscillation of the surface of an enclosed or semienclosed body of water (lake, inland sea, bay, etc) caused by such phenomena as atmospheric pressure changes, winds, tidal currents, and earthquakes

Word Origin for seiche

C19: from Swiss French, first used to describe the rise and fall of water in Lake Geneva; of obscure origin

Scientific definitions for seiche

seiche
[ sāsh, sēch ]

An oscillating wave in an enclosed body of water. A seiche may have a period from a few minutes to a few hours and is usually a result of seismic or atmospheric disturbances.