glacial boulder
- noun
- /ˈɡleɪʃəl ˈboʊldər/
- Specialized
:
bloque glacial
- The massive glacial boulder in the field is evidence of the area's glacial past.
Examples
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A glacial boulder can be found hundreds of miles from the rock formation it once belonged to.
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Geologists studied the glacial boulder to determine where the glacier originated.
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The glacial boulder stood majestically in the field.
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Many glacial boulders can be found in this area.
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During our hike, we came across a massive glacial boulder that had been deposited here thousands of years ago.
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The landscape was dotted with glacial boulders, each telling the story of the glacier's retreat.
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In the valley, a gigantic glacial boulder stood alone, a reminder of the powerful forces that shaped this area.
Synonyms
191
2.2
A very large round rock that lies on the ground
A large rock left by a glacier far from where it came
A very large smooth rounded rock separate from the rock around it
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'glacial' specifies origin/causal relation with glaciers and 'boulder' is a large rock, so 'glacial boulder' straightforwardly denotes a large rock moved/deposited by a glacier. This compositional pattern is literal and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Glacial boulder comes from the simple image of a slow river of ice, a glacier, carrying a very large rock, a boulder, and then dropping it far from where it started. That's why the term means 'a large rock moved and left behind by a glacier'.