[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

detritus \detri"tus\, n. f. d'etritus, fr. l. detritus, p.
   p. of deterere. see detriment.
   1. geol. a mass of substances worn off from solid bodies by
      attrition, and reduced to small portions; as, diluvial
      detritus.
      1913 webster

   note: for large portions, the word d'ebris is used.
         1913 webster

   2. hence: any fragments separated from the body to which they
      belonged; any product of disintegration.
      1913 webster

            the mass of detritus of which modern languages are
            composed.                             --farrar.
      1913 webster
see also:
detriment 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

detritus
     n 1: the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken
          up syn: debris, dust, junk, rubble
     2: loose material stone fragments and silt etc that is worn
        away from rocks
see also:
debris dust junk rubble 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

65 moby thesaurus words for "detritus":
   afterglow, afterimage, alluvion, alluvium, balance, breccia, butt,
   butt end, candle ends, chaff, debris, deposit, diluvium, drift,
   end, fag end, filings, fossil, grain, granule, granulet, gravel,
   grit, holdover, husks, leavings, leftovers, loess, moraine,
   odds and ends, offscourings, orts, parings, rags, refuse, relics,
   remainder, remains, remnant, residue, residuum, rest, roach,
   rubbish, ruins, rump, sand, sawdust, scourings, scraps, scree,
   sediment, shadow, shavings, shingle, silt, sinter, straw, stubble,
   stump, survival, sweepings, trace, vestige, waste

Detritus >> D Words
Detritus, definition of term: Detritus
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