Dock, Double Tide, Downwelling, Drift, Drying Beach: Word Origins, Descriptions of Coastal Features, Processes

In the current alphabetic series of word origins and physical descriptions of coastal features and processes, here are dock, double tide, downdrift, downwelling, drift, drift sector, and drying beach.

Dock
The Modern English coast-related word dock comes from Middle English dokke, probably from Middle Dutch docke ("dock, ditch"), from Latin ductio ("act of conducting").

A natural or artificial basin for the reception of ships is a dock. The term also applies to the waterway extending between two piers through which ships pass toward the land dock.

Double Tide
A double tide is a tide with two heads. For example, a high tide consisting of a high-water mark, a slight decline, and then a second high-water mark of nearly the same height as the first one is a double tide. The same term applies for the reverse process: a low tide consisting of a low-water mark, a slight increase, and then a second low-water mark of nearly the same position as the first one is also a double tide.

Downdrift
On a coast, downdrift is the direction of primary movement of sedimentary materials in the water.

Downwelling
Downwelling is the sinking of surface water for any of various reasons, such as onshore winds or converging currents.

Drift
Modern English drift comes from Middle English drift, which is derived from the root of Old English drifan ("to drive"). The word has a Germanic origin and is akin to Old Norse drift ("snowdrift").

The word drift has several different meanings pertaining to a coast, mainly these: the flow or velocity of an ocean stream; the sedimentary materials moved by waves and currents; a mass of sand deposited in a heap on the shore by wind or water; and loose items, such as seaweed or driftwood, washed ashore by waves or tidal current.

Drift Sector
A drift sector is a stretch of ocean shore where drift materials may flow without obstructions and where all natural sources of such drift freely contribute.

Drying Beach
A drying beach is that part of the beach that is presently uncovered by water but is covered at other times. At low tide, for example, a certain stretch of the beach will be "drying" from the wetness that accumulated during high tide. Also known as a subaerial ("taking place in the open air") beach.
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Encyclopaedia Britannica Ready Reference 2004. CD-ROM. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2006.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2007.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1989.