stoss

Stoss is a German noun derived from the verb stoßen, meaning to push, strike, or impel. In English-language technical writing the word is used primarily in two senses borrowed from German: a general sense of an impact or shove, and a term in glaciology and geomorphology describing the facing side of a landform that is directed toward the source of movement (typically ice or wind). The spelling “Stoss” is usually rendered as stoss in lowercase in English texts, though the original German term is Stoß.

In glaciology and related geomorphology, stoss refers to the up-glacier or up-wind side of a landform such as a roche moutonnée, drumlin, or dune. The opposite side is called the lee side. The stoss side is the one that first encounters the moving ice, water, or wind, and it often bears the marks of abrasion or deposition produced by the flow. The concept of stoss and lee surfaces helps describe the asymmetric shapes of many glacially sculpted and wind-formed features.

Beyond geomorphology, stoss appears in German as a root meaning push or impact, appearing in many compound terms (for example, phrases describing direction or force). In English, the isolated term stoss is uncommon outside technical or glossary contexts and may also appear in proper names or as a loanword in scholarly works. Overall, stoss mainly designates a directional face affected by an advancing medium.