Word Confusion: Arroyo vs Coulee vs Wadi vs Wash

Posted October 24, 2023 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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In this word confusion Arroyo vs Coulee vs Wadi vs Wash, all four are dry streambeds that temporarily fill with water. The term you use will depend upon its geographic location.

An arroyo is found in the southwestern US.

A coulee is generally found in western Canada and the US, particularly Washington state.

A wadi is a term used in Arabia, Syria, northern Africa, and southwest Asia.

A wash is popular in the deserts of the western US.

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Exploring Later . . .

You may want to explore “Anchorage, Haven, Moorage, and Roadstead“, “Bay vs Bight vs Cove“, “Bayou vs Bog vs Marsh vs Swamp“, “Born vs Borne vs Bourn“, “Brook vs Burn vs Draw vs Lick“, “Cay vs Key vs Quay“, “Creak versus Creek“, “Dam versus Damn“, “Dock vs Pier vs Wharf“, “Firth vs Fjord vs Gulf“, “Harbor vs Marina vs Port vs Quay“, “Lakes: Kettle, Loch, Mere, and Oxbow“, “Ocean versus Sea“, “Peer versus Pier“, “River vs Stream vs Tributary“, “Sea versus See“, “Slew versus Slough“, and “Straight versus Strait“.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Arroyo	Coulee	Wadi	Wash
Walatowa Arroyo, Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, by Floyd Muad’Dib is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr.	Red Rock Coulee, Alberta, is Roman Alexander Wolfli‘s own work under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Wadi in Nahal Paran, Negev, Israel, by Mark A Wilson is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.	The View Above Red Rock Wash is Thomas Farley‘s own work under the CC0 1.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Noun Plural: arroyos	Noun Plural: draws	Noun Plural: wadis Alternative spelling: wady, Wādī [Arabic], Oued [French]	Noun Plural: washes
A steep-sided gully formed by the action of fast-flowing water in an arid or semi-arid region, found chiefly in the southwestern US A gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain	[Western regions of Canada and Northwest US, particularly Washington state] A deep ravine, gully, or gulch scooped out by heavy rain or melting snow, but dry in summer An alternative definition claims a usually small or shallow ravine [Geology] A thick sheet or stream of lava A small stream, usually dry streambed A low-lying area A small intermittent stream	A valley, gully, or streambed in Arabia, Syria, northern Africa, and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season A valley	[Western US; dry wash] A dry bed of a stream which flows only occasionally, usually in a ravine or canyon
Examples:
“The deep arroyo through which Squaw Creek wound was now only a cleft between snowdrifts — very blue when one looked down into it” (Cather). “Sometimes, having exhausted our supply of wild meat and emptied our casks, we were days without food or drink; then a water-hole or a shallow pool in the bottom of an arroyo so restored our strength and sanity that we were able to shoot some of the wild animals that sought it also” (Bierce). Flash floods are common in arroyos following thunderstorms.	“Atop that mesa, hidden in a sandstone coulee, our campfire burned a hole in the darkness” (Benedikt). “Sagebrush steppes are cracked by muddy coulees hiding pines where the spring snow lingers” (Preston). “The region is marked by rolling prairie, steep coulees, and a smattering of cropfields, making it the perfect place to grow trophy bucks, and to sneak up on them” (Editors).	“What he may not know is that from this museum, the site of the Deir Yassin massacre is visible just across the wadi” (Munayyer). “He knows the topography and geography of Israel/Palestine, literally street by street and wadi by wadi” (Pogrebin). “Even with a GPS, it was easy to get disoriented in a wadi, or to mistake one trail for another” (Ackerman). “Most Allentown residents of Syrian heritage are Orthodox Christians from the wadi-al-Nasara region in western Homs province” (Moraff).	It’s a dry wash in summer. “Common dominant species of the desert dry wash include smoke tree, desert willow, catclaw, cheesebush, and waterweed” (Desert). “Washes are typically found in arid and semi-arid regions, such as deserts and canyons” (Wadi). The heavy rain caused the wash to overflow. “The water that flows through washes is often used for irrigation and other agricultural purposes” (Wadi).
History of the Word:
Late 18th century, from the Spanish.	Early 19th century, from the French coulée meaning (lava) flow, from couler meaning to flow, from the Latin colare meaning to strain or flow, from colum meaning strainer.	Early 17th century, from the Arabic wādī.	First recorded before 900; Middle English verb washen, Old English wascan cognate with the Dutch wasschen, the German waschen, the Old Norse vaska, from the Proto-Germanic watskan, equivalent to wat- (root of water) + -sk- verb suffix + -an infinitive suffix.

Arroyo

Coulee

Wadi

Wash

Red dirt distinguishes the floor of the arroyao along with green trees on the left.

Walatowa Arroyo, Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, by Floyd Muad’Dib is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr.

This is a dry stream bed containing boulders (concretions).

Red Rock Coulee, Alberta, is Roman Alexander Wolfli‘s own work under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

A wide, curving sandbed curving between rising sides of sand.

Wadi in Nahal Paran, Negev, Israel, by Mark A Wilson is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A broad desert valley with houses to the right and two people and their dog hiking.

The View Above Red Rock Wash is Thomas Farley‘s own work under the CC0 1.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part of Grammar:

Noun

Plural: arroyos

Noun

Plural: draws

Noun

Plural: wadis

Alternative spelling: wady, Wādī [Arabic], Oued [French]

Noun

Plural: washes

A steep-sided gully formed by the action of fast-flowing water in an arid or semi-arid region, found chiefly in the southwestern US

A gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain

[Western regions of Canada and Northwest US, particularly Washington state] A deep ravine, gully, or gulch scooped out by heavy rain or melting snow, but dry in summer

An alternative definition claims a usually small or shallow ravine

[Geology] A thick sheet or stream of lava

A small stream, usually dry streambed

A low-lying area

A small intermittent stream

A valley, gully, or streambed in Arabia, Syria, northern Africa, and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season

A valley

[Western US; dry wash] A dry bed of a stream which flows only occasionally, usually in a ravine or canyon

Examples:

“The deep arroyo through which Squaw Creek wound was now only a cleft between snowdrifts — very blue when one looked down into it” (Cather).

“Sometimes, having exhausted our supply of wild meat and emptied our casks, we were days without food or drink; then a water-hole or a shallow pool in the bottom of an arroyo so restored our strength and sanity that we were able to shoot some of the wild animals that sought it also” (Bierce).

Flash floods are common in arroyos following thunderstorms.

“Atop that mesa, hidden in a sandstone coulee, our campfire burned a hole in the darkness” (Benedikt).

“Sagebrush steppes are cracked by muddy coulees hiding pines where the spring snow lingers” (Preston).

“The region is marked by rolling prairie, steep coulees, and a smattering of cropfields, making it the perfect place to grow trophy bucks, and to sneak up on them” (Editors).

“What he may not know is that from this museum, the site of the Deir Yassin massacre is visible just across the wadi” (Munayyer).

“He knows the topography and geography of Israel/Palestine, literally street by street and wadi by wadi” (Pogrebin).

“Even with a GPS, it was easy to get disoriented in a wadi, or to mistake one trail for another” (Ackerman).

“Most Allentown residents of Syrian heritage are Orthodox Christians from the wadi-al-Nasara region in western Homs province” (Moraff).

It’s a dry wash in summer.

“Common dominant species of the desert dry wash include smoke tree, desert willow, catclaw, cheesebush, and waterweed” (Desert).

“Washes are typically found in arid and semi-arid regions, such as deserts and canyons” (Wadi).

The heavy rain caused the wash to overflow.

“The water that flows through washes is often used for irrigation and other agricultural purposes” (Wadi).

History of the Word:

Late 18th century, from the Spanish.

Early 19th century, from the French coulée meaning (lava) flow, from couler meaning to flow, from the Latin colare meaning to strain or flow, from colum meaning strainer.

Early 17th century, from the Arabic wādī.

First recorded before 900; Middle English verb washen, Old English wascan cognate with the Dutch wasschen, the German waschen, the Old Norse vaska, from the Proto-Germanic watskan, equivalent to wat- (root of water) + -sk- verb suffix + -an infinitive suffix.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Arroyo vs Coulee vs Wadi vs Wash

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Ackerman, Elliot. “The Fourth War: My lunch with a jihadi.” The Daily Beast. 21 Jan 2014. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-fourth-war-my-lunch-with-a-jihadi>.

Apple Dictionary.com

Benedikt, Aram von. “Life Lessons from a Mountain Man: “He Taught Me to Hunt. Then He Sent Me on My Way.” Outdoor Life. 6 Nov 2020. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/hunting/important-lesson-on-life-hunting-from-mountain-man/>.

Bierce, Ambrose. “The Stranger.” Can Such Things Be? Originally published 1893. E-BOOKARAMA, 2023. <https://amzn.to/3RXcWbE>. Ebook.

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Originally published 1918. Global Publishers, 2023. <https://amzn.to/47cSqIz>. Ebook.

“Desert Dry Wash.” Wikipedda. 31 Dec 2022. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_dry_wash>.

Dictionary.com: coulee

The Editors. “Dream Hunts: 20 Incredible Big Game Hunting Trips.” Field & Stream. 12 Sept 2019. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://www.fieldandstream.com/20-dream-hunts-you-can-actually-afford/>.

The Free Dictionary: arroyo

Merriam-Webster: coulee

Moraff, Christopher. “Welcome to Assadville, USA.” The Daily Beast. 11 Nov 2014. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/welcome-to-assadville-usa>.

Munayyer, Yousef. “Mr President, Don’t Forget the Nakba.” The Daily Beast. 19 Mar 2013. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/19/mr-president-don-t-forget-the-nakba.html>.

Pogrebin, Letty Cottin. “How to Revive the Peace Process: A Modest Proposal.” The Daily Beast. 9 May 2012. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-to-revive-the-peace-process-a-modest-proposal>.

Preston, Christopher. “Why Italians are Growing Apples for Wild Bears.” The Atlantic. 9 Apr 2020. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/04/what-wildlife-really-looks-like/609721/>.

Reyes, Anita. “What is the Difference Between an Arroyo, a Wash, and a Wadi?” SeeTheSouthwest.com. 19 July 2019. Accessed 14 Oct 2023. <https://seethesouthwest.com/what-is-the-difference-between-an-arroyo-a-wash-and-a-wadi/>.

“Wadi vs Wash: Which One is the Correct One?” The Content Authority. n.d. Accessed 18 Oct 2023. <https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/wadi-vs-wash>.

“What are a coolie and a draw, as in ‘feed in the coolies & water in the draw’?” StackExchange.com. 27 May 2014. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. <https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/173384/what-are-a-coolie-and-a-draw-as-in-feed-in-the-coolies-water-in-the-draw>.

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