Ooze Names the Mud and the Movement
To ooze is to seep out slowly. The noun names both the slime and a sea-floor sediment.
To ooze is to flow or seep out slowly; as a noun it means soft mud or slime. In oceanography *ooze* is a precise term: a deep-sea sediment made of at least thirty percent microscopic shells, either calcareous from plankton such as foraminifera or siliceous from diatoms and radiolarians. Vast areas of the ocean floor are covered in it, built up over millions of years at a few centimetres per thousand. The verb and the noun come from two separate Old English words that merged.
- To seep slowly. *Oozing water.*
- Soft mud. *Thick ooze.*
- A sea-floor sediment. *Calcareous ooze.*
- To radiate. *Oozing charm.*
- Old English — *wos*, juice. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | ooze | Oozing. |
| Noun | ooze | Ooze. |
| Adjective | oozy | Oozy. |
| Past | oozed | Oozed. |
| Old English | wase | Mud. |
- Water oozed from the wall.Movement.
- The riverbed was thick ooze.Mud.
- He oozed confidence.Figurative.
Deep-sea oozes
- Calcareous ooze — chalky shells of foraminifera and coccoliths
- Siliceous ooze — glassy shells of diatoms and radiolarians
- It must be at least thirty percent microscopic shells
- Accumulation runs a few centimetres per thousand years
- Below about 4,500 metres calcium carbonate dissolves
The verb is Old English *wos*, juice or sap. The noun is Old English *wase*, mud; the two merged in Middle English.
What is ooze in oceanography?
A deep-sea sediment made of at least thirty percent microscopic shells, either chalky or glassy.
Are the verb and noun the same word?
Not originally. One meant juice and the other mud; they merged in Middle English.