What is "alluvion"

Alluvion \Al*lu"vi*on\, n. [F. alluvion, L. alluvio, fr. alluere to wash against; ad + luere, equiv. to lavare, to wash. See Lave.]

1. Wash or flow of water against the shore or bank.

2. An overflowing; an inundation; a flood.
   --Lyell.

3. Matter deposited by an inundation or the action of flowing water; alluvium.

   The golden alluvions are there [in California and Australia] spread over a far wider space: they are found not only on the banks of rivers, and in their beds, but are scattered over the surface of vast plains.
   --R. Cobden.

4. (Law) An accession of land gradually washed to the shore or bank by the flowing of water. See Accretion.

n. (context legal English) The increase in the area of land due to the deposition of sediment (alluvium) by a river.

1. n. gradual formation of new land, by recession of the sea or deposit of sediment

2. the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land; "plains fertilized by annual inundations" [syn: flood, inundation, deluge]

3. clay or silt or gravel carried by rushing streams and deposited where the stream slows down [syn: alluvial sediment, alluvial deposit, alluvium]

Alluvion is a legal term describing the increase in the area of land due to sediment ( alluvium) deposited by a river. This changes the size of a piece of land (a process called accession) and thus its value over time.