DELTA (from the shape of the Gr.

See also:

• LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter A, delta, originally used of the mouth of the

See also:

• NILE
• NILE, BATTLE OF THE
• NILE, SOBAT

Nile)  , a tract of land enclosed by the diverging branches of a river's mouth and the seacoast, and traversed by other branches of the stream . This triangular tract is formed from the fine silt brought down in suspension by a muddy river and deposited when the river reaches the sea . When tidal currents are feeble, the delta frequently advances some distance seawards, forming a local prolongation of the coast .