Subsidences

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The gradual sinking or settling of the ground, often caused by natural processes or human activities
2. The process wherein land or soil begins to lower in elevation, potentially due to various environmental factors or constructions
3. A phenomenon involving the downward movement of the earth's surface, typically resulting from factors such as erosion or extraction activities

Etymology: "Subsidences" is simply the plural of "subsidence," so the word's history is that of its singular form. "Subsidence" comes from Latin "subsidens," the present participle of "subsidere," meaning "to settle down" or "to sink." That verb combines "sub," meaning "under" or "down," with "sidere," meaning "to settle" or "to sit down," which is also the root of "sedere," "to sit," seen in words like "session" and "sediment." English took the noun from that participial stem and added the suffix "-ence," which turns a verb-based idea into a noun of action or state. The "subside" element tells you the core sense: something gradually sinking or settling downward. In the plural, the term refers to separate instances or patches of ground that have sunk, as in the subsidences that open up after mining or after groundwater is pumped out.

Synonyms: sinkings, settlements, collapses, subsidence events, depressions

Antonyms: uplifts, elevations, rises, upheavals, increases