Sedimentological

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the scientific study of sediments, their formation, transport, deposition and the rocks they form
2. Concerning the branch of geology that examines sediment particles, layers and the processes that lay them down
3. Of or pertaining to the field of sedimentology and its analysis of deposited materials and sedimentary strata

Etymology: Sedimentological is a technical coinage built from parts that are each centuries older than the word itself. The core is "sediment", which comes from Latin "sedimentum", a settling, from "sedere", to sit, the same root that gives English "sit" and "session". A sediment is literally something that has sat down to the bottom of a liquid. The adjective is formed in two steps. "Sedimentology" was made by adding the Greek-derived combining element "-ology", from "logos", study or account, to "sediment", giving the name of the science of sediments. Adding "-ical" to that, a suffix from Latin "-icus" passed through Old French and Middle English, produces the adjective. The result is a modern scientific term, so it describes a field of study rather than anything the ancient Greeks or Romans would have recognised.