A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
988 entries
boil
An upwelling of water on the river’s surface, caused by deep current hitting a submerged obstacle and being forced upward. Boils appear as smooth, rounded swells that rise and collapse, as if the river is breathing from below. Large boils in big water can destabilize boats.
Etymology
From Old French boillir (“to bubble, boil”), from Latin bullire (“to bubble,” from bulla, “bubble”).