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débâcle†
Cdn French
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
the annual thrusting forward and expansion of river ice during break-up, with special reference to the St. Lawrence River, where the phenomenon was accompanied with much flooding and considerable danger.
See: ice-shove
Quotations
1852
Violent débâcles entering Assistance Bay from the lakes.
1870
The ice-shove or débacle is always an event . . . in Lower Canada. . . .