Hummocks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small rounded hills or mounds of earth or snow often found in natural landscapes
2. A gently raised area of land or a mound commonly occurring in nature
3. Low domed hills or protuberances composed of soil, vegetation, or ice found outdoors

Etymology: "Hummocks" is the plural of "hummock," a noun for a small rounded hill or mound. The plural is the form that matters most in practice, since hummocks usually appear scattered across a landscape, as on tundra, marshland, or sea ice, rather than alone. The base word is probably formed from "hump" with the diminutive suffix "-ock," the same ending found in "hillock," which is a small hill. The "-ock" ending shrinks the meaning, so a hummock is a little hump of ground.

Synonyms: knolls, mounds, hillocks, elevations, ridges

Antonyms: depressions, valleys, lowlands, pits, gullies