What is the difference between dirt and mud

Soil is commonly referred to as earth or dirt; technically, the term dirt should be restricted to displaced soil. Soil forms a structure that is filled with pore spaces, and can be thought of as a mixture of solids, water and air gas. Accordingly, soils are often treated as a three state system. Little of the soil of planet Earth is older than the Tertiary and most no older than the Pleistocene. Darkened topsoil and reddish subsoil layers are typical in some regions.

The mineral and organic components are considered a constant with the percentages of water and air the only variable parameters where the increase in one is balanced by the reduction in the other. Compiled by Rami E. Kremesti M. Assallay A. Earth Science Reviews 45, Glossary of terms in soil science. Ottawa: Agriculture Canada. ISBN McCarthy, David F. Essentials of soil mechanics and foundations: basic geotechnics 7th ed. Earth Science Reviews 45, 2.

It can also be carried by wind. It's damp or dry but not completely soaked in water. It has negative connotations and if it attaches to things, they are dirty by definition. It can be wet right after irrigation, but it's also usually damp throughout the rest of the day. The two words have neutral connotations, unlike "dirt". I would really be grateful if you address all the 4 points.

Thank you. Last edited by a moderator: Feb 24, Barque Banned Tamil. You've got the idea, more or less. I don't have much to say on dust and mud. Soil and earth mean more than "the layer which plants grow in". The outer crust of the earth is earth or soil. On number 2, "dirt" can mean either soil or anything that causes something to be dirty.

Did you look for earlier threads? Here's one on dust and dirt. I checked these posts, and my post here is just an attempt to ascertain that I correctly understand the information I gathered from the posts. Sometimes, with so much information and opinions it's difficult o wrap your head around these slight differences in meaning.

Re Dirt: I hear dirt used for garden soil in American shows. Dampness IS an issue between dust and mud. Dust is dry.