The word 'avalanche' is a loan word from French 'lavanche'

'Avalanche' is a word borrowed from French 'lavanche'. The word entered the English language some time around 1771.

avalanche [noun] [1771]

• a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice
• a sudden great or overwhelming rush or accumulation of something
• a cumulative process in which photons or accelerated charge carriers produce additional photons or charge carriers thro...

Etymology: French, from French dialect (Franco-Provençal) 'lavantse, avalantse'.

Topics: Weather.

Origin: From French to English.

See 'avalanche' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from French.

See more loan words from 1700s.