Streambanks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The sloping or steep ground that forms the side of a stream or small river
2. Land that rises along the edge of a flowing stream or creek
3. The ground bordering a stream that may be eroded or reinforced by water flow

Etymology: Streambanks is simply the plural of "streambank," a compound of two very old English words. "Stream" comes from Old English "strēam," meaning a current or flowing body of water, and "bank" comes from Old Norse "banki," a mound or ridge, which entered English during the Viking-age contact with Scandinavian speakers and came to mean the raised edge of a river or channel. Put together, the pair describes the land flanking a flowing watercourse. The plural simply applies the usual English rule of adding "-s" to the final noun, so "streambanks" refers to the two sides of a stream, or to the sloping ground along several streams. Nothing in the compound's makeup has shifted in meaning over the centuries; the parts still say exactly what they did when first joined.

Synonyms: riverbank, bank