Anabranches

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A secondary watercourse that diverges from the main river and often reconnects downstream
2. a lateral channel that branches off from a river, creating a network of waterways
3. an alternate flow path of a river that can enhance sediment deposition and ecosystems

Etymology: The plural of "anabranch", a term for a channel that leaves a main river and rejoins it further on, often enclosing an island. The first half, "ana-", comes from "anastomosing", a word describing channels that split and rejoin like the strands of a net. Geographers borrowed that prefix and attached it to "branch", so the result describes a river that branches off and comes back together, rather than one that simply splits and keeps going. The pairing is a modern coinage of the kind geographers often make: a classical-style prefix joined to a plain English word to name a specific landform. Its meaning is precise, and the word exists because rivers such as those in arid or flat country often form these loops, which a plain "branch" could not describe on its own.