Wednesday word: tarn

[trellia-chan.livejournal.com]

Tarn: A tarn is a mountain lake that forms when water collects in a valley or cirque that has been dug by a glacier.

Pictured is Summit Lake, a tarn on the north face of Mount Evans and east face of Mount Spalding in Colorado. It sits at an altitude of 12,836 feet. Image source



Etymology: From the Old Norse word tjörn literally translating into "pond."

The word is also used in the region of Northern England to describe any pond thereabouts.

Variations of the word are used in Scandinavian languages to describe ponds or small lakes in forests that are closely hugged by vegetation.

Comments

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

Pretty lake, and nice word.

[lucretiasheart.livejournal.com]

I love this word. I very intrigued by all words related to natural features of the land like glen, copse, thicket, marsh, etc. Many have gone out of common use but are still very practical words. 'Tarn' would be one of those I've been looking around for.

THANK YOU!

[trellia-chan.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank YOU for the nice comment! ^_^ I adore words like this too. There are so many specific land features, and it seems nearly all of them have their own word!