Mo*raine" (?), n. [F. Cf. Prov. G.
mur stones broken off, It. mora a heap of stones,
hillock, G. mürbe soft, broken up, OHG. muruwi,
AS. mearu tender, Gr. &?; to cause to wither, Skr.
mlā to relax.] (Geol.) An accumulation of
earth and stones carried forward and deposited by a glacier.
Lyell.
&fist; If the moraine is at the extremity of the glacier it is a
terminal moraine; if at the side, a lateral moraine; if
parallel to the side on the central portion of the glacier, a
medial moraine. See Illust. of Glacier. In the
last case it is formed by the union of the lateral moraines of the
branches of the glacier. A ground moraine is one beneath the
mass of ice.
