From Savoyard 'morena' (mound), possibly from Franco-Provençal 'morre' (snout)—named for the snout-like shape where glaciers end.
A mass of rocks, sediment, and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.
From French 'moraine,' from Savoyard dialect 'morena' (a mound of earth), probably from Franco-Provençal 'morre' (snout, muzzle), referring to the snout-like shape of terminal moraines where a glacier ends. Introduced to English through Horace-Bénédict de Saussure's Alpine geology writings. Key roots: morre (Franco-Provençal: "snout, muzzle").