avul·sion /ə-'vəl-shən/ n [Latin avulsio act of tearing away, from avellere to tear away, from a - off, away + vellere to pull, pluck]: a sudden cutting off of land by flood or change in the course of a body of water; esp: one that separates a portion from one person's property and joins it to the property of another compare accretion
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.