A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1133 entries
riffle
A shallow, fast-flowing stretch of river where water tumbles over gravel or cobbles, breaking the surface into small waves and creating a sound like continuous, low applause. Riffles oxygenate the water and provide critical habitat for aquatic insects and fish. In a river’s rhythm, the riffle is the shallow breath between the deeper pools.
Etymology
Origin uncertain; American English, early 1700s, probably a blend of ruffle and ripple, and likely part imitative — the sound of water breaking over stones. Ripple itself is also of obscure origin, perhaps a frequentative of rip: the surface of the water torn into small ridges.