# avalanche

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈævəlɑːnʃ/ · frequency rank #15,339

## Definitions
1. A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.
2. A fall of earth, rocks, etc., similar to that of an avalanche of snow or ice.
3. A sudden, great, or irresistible descent or influx; anything like an avalanche in suddenness and overwhelming quantity.

## Etymology
From French avalanche, from Franco-Provençal (Savoy) avalançhe, blend of aval (“downhill”) and standard lavençhe, from Vulgar Latin *labanka (compare Occitan lavanca, Italian valanga), of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Late Latin lābīna (“landslide”) (compare Franco-Provençal (Dauphiné) lavino, Romansh lavina), from Latin lābēs, from lābor (“to slip, slide”).

## Common misspellings (13)
`aavlanche`, `avaalnche`, `avalacnhe`, `avalancche`, `avalanceh`, `avalanchhe`, `avalanhce`, `avalannche`, `avallanche`, `avalnache`, `avlaanche`, `avvalanche`, `vaalanche`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/avalanche