congelifraction

/kənˈd͡ʒɛlɪˌfɹækʃən/

Etymology

Coined by Kirk Bryan in 1946 in "Cryopedology—the study of frozen ground and intensive frost action with suggestions on nomenclature" in the American Journal of Science, volume 244, pages 622–642.

congelifraction means the weathering of material through the repeated freezing and thawing of water. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

congelifraction is pronounced /kənˈd͡ʒɛlɪˌfɹækʃən/.

noun

the weathering of material through the repeated freezing and thawing of water.“The rubble is produced by intense frost riving, or congelifraction (Bryan, 1946, p. 640), of the bedrock.”