sierozem

noun

si·​er·​o·​zem

sē¦erə¦zem

variants or serozem

¦ser-

plural -s

: any of a group of zonal soils that are brownish gray at the surface and lighter colored below, based in a carbonate layer or a hardpan layer, and characteristic of temperate to cool arid regions with mixed shrub vegetation

Word History

Etymology

Russian serozem, from seryĭ gray + zemlya earth; akin to Lithuanian žemė earth, Latin humus

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