Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word tidal wave. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word tidal wave, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say tidal wave in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word tidal wave you have here. The definition of the word tidal wave will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition oftidal wave, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
The last tidal wave here killed twenty and left thousands homeless.
(proscribed) A large, sudden inundation of water from the storm surge, or waves of that surge; a sudden surge of river water.
1961 January, “Talking of Trains: Flooding at Lewes”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5:
During the day conditions worsened quickly—for example, a 2-6-0 on the Uckfield line suddenly encountered flood water high enough to enter its ashpan and extinguish its fire—until lock gates up-river at Barcombe gave way and a tidal wave rolled down the valley meeting head-on a spring tide rolling up from the coast.
For some time now, it has been common to correct the use of tidal wave that refers to a disastrous wave caused by a disturbance in the ocean, with the term tsunami suggested in its stead. In scientific publications, tsunami has become the standard term for this phenomenon, though in the mass media and elsewhere, they are used interchangeably and frequently, tsunami seeing more usage on the whole.
The sense of tidal wave that is synonymous with tsunami has long been in the English language, and relates to the uncommon sense of tidal that refers to any rise and fall in the water level of any large body of water, and not just the daily rising and falling caused by the moon (see storm tide, hurricane tide, and tidal flood). While there is nothing that is strictly speaking ‘incorrect’ with regard to this usage of tidal wave, many people believe that the term should simply not be linked with the term tide at all, to avoid the possibility of any confusion as to the cause of a tidal wave.
Tsunami was at one point strongly associated with scientific use, and many people would have considered it pedantic in ordinary conversation, but its prevalence in mass media and popular media has most likely reduced or eliminated this association. Currently it is a (mostly) non-contentious term that can be used in place of the more contentious and oft-corrected tidal wave.
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