Ait

Bush Ait on the River Thames in Berkshire

Look up ait in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

An ait (or eyot) is a small island in a river. It is especially used to refer to islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England.^[1]

Aits are typically formed by the deposition of sediment in the water, which accumulates over a period of time. An ait is characteristically long and narrow, and may become a permanent island. However, aits may also be eroded: the resulting sediment is deposited further downstream and could result in another ait. A channel with numerous aits is called a braided channel.

The words "ait" and "eyot" are not common in modern English, although a few famous writers have used it, including J. R. R. Tolkien in his Lord of the Rings books, and Charles Dickens in Bleak House. More recently, it was used by Terry Pratchett in the first of the Discworld books, The Colour of Magic, as well as in the book The Pope's Rhinoceros by Lawrence Norfolk.

See also

• Towhead
• Shoal

References

This article relating to a topographical term is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This England-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e