frazil
FRAZ-ul
Ice crystals that form in turbulent water — loose, needle-shaped, suspended in the current like underwater snow. Frazil appears in fast-moving rivers and rough seas when the water is supercooled but too agitated to freeze into a sheet. In Yosemite, frazil ice turns waterfalls into flowing slush.
Etymology
Canadian French frasil, from French fraisil (coal cinders), from Old French faisil, from Vulgar Latin facilis, from Latin fax (torch). The connection to cinders may refer to the fragmented appearance of the ice.
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