Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
madrevieja
English translation:
former riverbed
Added to glossary by
Bubo Coroman (X)
Jul 31, 2009 15:44
14 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Spanish term
Colombia
True meaning, right feeling
Native in: English 
, Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, Spanish
madrevieja
Spanish to English
Science
Geography
Possibly many uses, many meanings. This is the one I'm looking for: Lecho antiguo de un río, que a veces tiene agua estancada.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | former riverbed |
Bubo Coroman (X)
|
| 5 | dry streambed |
Muriel Vasconcellos
|
| 4 | dry creek |
philgoddard
|
| 3 +1 | streambed |
ANCA ROXANA CHIRILA
|
| 4 | wadi |
Maha Arara
|
| 4 -1 | oxbow lake |
Jenni Lukac (X)
|
| 3 | dried out river bed |
Gad Kohenov
|
| 3 | old riverbed |
Rachel Fell
|
Change log
Aug 3, 2009 13:18: Bubo Coroman (X) Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+1
59 mins
Selected
former riverbed
"madre" is like "lecho" and also "álveo"
madre.
8. f. Cauce por donde ordinariamente corren las aguas de un río o arroyo.
http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/
ÁLVEO - Madre o lecho de un río.
...
MADREVIEJA - Lecho antiguo de un río, que a veces tiene agua estancada.
http://www.diccionariosdigitales.net/glosarios y vocabulario...
You can use "former riverbed" as a generic term although if you know what caused the river to take another course in your context you could look for a more specific term.
http://www.google.es/search?hl=es&q="former riverbed"&meta=&...
madre.
8. f. Cauce por donde ordinariamente corren las aguas de un río o arroyo.
http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/
ÁLVEO - Madre o lecho de un río.
...
MADREVIEJA - Lecho antiguo de un río, que a veces tiene agua estancada.
http://www.diccionariosdigitales.net/glosarios y vocabulario...
You can use "former riverbed" as a generic term although if you know what caused the river to take another course in your context you could look for a more specific term.
http://www.google.es/search?hl=es&q="former riverbed"&meta=&...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Interesting options. I chose yours. Thx, Deborah."
5 mins
philgoddard
United States
United States
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United States
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Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
dry creek
.
+1
12 mins
ANCA ROXANA CHIRILA
Spain
Spain
Works in field
Spain
Perfectionist & Professional!
Native in: Romanian
Works in: English to Romanian, Romanian to English, Spanish to Romanian, and 4 more.
streambed
The channel through which a natural stream of water runs or used to run.
Any long, narrow, sloping depression on land that had been shaped by flowing water. Streambeds can range in width from a few feet for a brook to several thousand feet for the largest rivers. The channel may or may not contain flowing water at any given time; some carry water only occasionally. Streambeds may be cut in bedrock or through sand, clay, silt, or other unconsolidated materials.
a channel occupied (or formerly occupied) by a stream
http://www.answers.com/topic/streambed
Any long, narrow, sloping depression on land that had been shaped by flowing water. Streambeds can range in width from a few feet for a brook to several thousand feet for the largest rivers. The channel may or may not contain flowing water at any given time; some carry water only occasionally. Streambeds may be cut in bedrock or through sand, clay, silt, or other unconsolidated materials.
a channel occupied (or formerly occupied) by a stream
http://www.answers.com/topic/streambed
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Francisco Pavez (X)
: I like this term because it's broad enough :)
1 hr
|
|
¡Gracias Francisco!
|
-1
36 mins
oxbow lake
I tracked it down via a rivers glossary found in the book "Rivers of the World. Google book site:http://books.google.es/books?id=koacGt0fhUoC&pg=PA323&lpg=PA... Then I googled the book's term that fit the description with the Spanish term and made the match. There are various "laguna madres" that come up googling the two terms. Hope this is what you are looking for!
Example sentence:
Laguna Madre Vieja is a(n) ... oxbow lake
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
philgoddard
: No, this is a completely different geographical feature, not a riverbed. I think you may have been confused between Madre Vieja (which is the name of a lake) and madrevieja.
45 mins
|
|
Sorry if I am on the wrong track. In any case I will post the definition I found for oxbow lake as a discussion entry in case it proves to be helpful.
|
55 mins
Gad Kohenov
Israel
Israel
Works in field
Israel
30 years of experience+satisfied clients
Native in: French , Hebrew
Works in: English to Hebrew, Hebrew to English, French to Hebrew, and 8 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
dried out river bed
According to what it means in German:
ausgetrocknetes Flußbett
ausgetrocknetes Flußbett
1 hr
Maha Arara
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Legal and Financial Translation
Native in: Arabic
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English
wadi
2 hrs
Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Thorough, knowledgeable and resourceful
Native in: English (Variant: UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Italian to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
7
old riverbed
To the left lie the graceful loops and oxbows of the old riverbed, now filled with near-stagnant water, barely moving in the dim twilight. The only thing missing is stultifying humidity and bombardier mosquitoes.
http://latimes.perfectmarket.com/1989-11-27/local/me-124_1_k...
Chapter 7
In the Danube old riverbed two Hungarian monitoring sites are situated (No. .... of several stagnant water species, which settle the Danube old riverbed. ...
www.gabcikovo.gov.sk/doc/jr2003en/ch7.html -
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-07-31 18:21:00 GMT)
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or "river bed"
5 hrs
Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
United States
Native in English
Works in field
United States
Each translation a gem!
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
36
dry streambed
Lots of suggestions out there. This is the term used most often in scientific text. 'Wash' and 'wadi' are also correct, but they are not US English and they are more informal. The word "dry" needs to be included to specify that the water is mostly gone.
11,000 refs for "dry streambed":
Britannica.com
Any long, narrow, sloping depression on land that had been shaped by flowing water. Streambeds can range in width from a few feet for a brook to several thousand feet for the largest rivers. The channel may or may not contain flowing water at any given time; some carry water only occasionally. Streambeds may be cut in bedrock or through sand, clay, silt, or other unconsolidated materials.
Definition of Streambed at Dictionary.com with free online Define fluvial and outline the fluvial processes: erosion ...
Precipitation events may be rare, but when they do occur, a dry streambed may fill with a torrent called a flash flood. Depending on the region, such a dry ...
www.geography.ccsu.edu/.../Eolian_Wind_Landforms.htm
Definition of wadi.
A valley, gully, or streambed in northern Africa and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season. wadi definition of wadi in the Free ...
wadi.phraseinfo.com/
11,000 refs for "dry streambed":
Britannica.com
Any long, narrow, sloping depression on land that had been shaped by flowing water. Streambeds can range in width from a few feet for a brook to several thousand feet for the largest rivers. The channel may or may not contain flowing water at any given time; some carry water only occasionally. Streambeds may be cut in bedrock or through sand, clay, silt, or other unconsolidated materials.
Definition of Streambed at Dictionary.com with free online Define fluvial and outline the fluvial processes: erosion ...
Precipitation events may be rare, but when they do occur, a dry streambed may fill with a torrent called a flash flood. Depending on the region, such a dry ...
www.geography.ccsu.edu/.../Eolian_Wind_Landforms.htm
Definition of wadi.
A valley, gully, or streambed in northern Africa and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season. wadi definition of wadi in the Free ...
wadi.phraseinfo.com/
Discussion
The only other entries in that particular glossary that mentioned a dry river bed that sometimes had water were arroyo and related words. Based on the description "antiguo lecho" I thought there was a match. There are numerous bodies of water in Latin and South America that incorporate the words "Madre Vieja", which also led me to associate in with madrevieja.
If it is no longer a river, but it collects rainfall or other flows, perhaps Deborah's "former river" suggestion would work.