meltwatern.
/ˈmɛltˌwɔːtə/, U.S. /ˈmɛltˌwɔdər/, /ˈmɛltˌwɑdər/ Geography.
Water formed by the melting of ice or snow, esp. from a glacier.
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the world > the earth > water > [noun] > water from melted snow or ice
snow-broth1600
snow-melt1927
meltwater1932
1932 Jrnl. Ecol. 20 46 It is probable that the ground round the melt-water which collected in the hollows..on top of the moorlands..was invaded by high arctics.
1969 G. C. Dickinson Maps & Air Photographs xiii. 208 Where overflowing glacial meltwater is responsible, the resultant valleys may have more typical fluvial characteristics.
1990 A. S. Trenhaile Geomorphol. Canada vi. 105 Meltwater streams can also build kames at the ice margin, as fans growing out from the ice.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1932