Weird words
on October 7, 2006
in weird words
1. rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice.
2. any disintegrated material; debris.
In biology, detritus is non-living particulate organic material (as opposed to dissolved organic material). It typically includes the bodies of dead organisms, fragments of organisms or faecal material, and is normally colonised by communities of micro-organisms which act to decompose (or remineralize) the material. The term is used to refer to organic fragments intermixed with soil on the land, but more commonly refers to material found suspended in water.
There’s more to this word, however. Some contemporary users, brimming with creative ideas, readily extended the meaning into a metaphor for self-recycling culture. Read their rebellious manifesto.
