BharatNotes Laterite
noun (also used attributively, e.g. "laterite soil"); related adjective: lateriticUsage in a UPSC answer
India's red and laterite soils, though notoriously low in nitrogen and humus, can be rendered cultivable through scientific liming and watershed management, illustrating how targeted soil interventions are central to any inclusive strategy for agrarian resilience and food security.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
lateritic (adj), lateritisation (n), laterize (v), laterization (n)
Root
Latin later = brick + -ite = mineral suffix; coined for soil that hardens like brick on exposure to air
Etymology
From Latin later ("brick") + -ite (mineral suffix), coined because the soil hardens like brick when exposed to air.
Memory Hook
Latin later = "brick": laterite literally bakes into red BRICKS in the tropical sun, so think "LATER-it hardens later into a brick."
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
A reddish iron and aluminium rich material formed by intense leaching in the humid tropics. Its formation needs alternating wet and dry seasons: heavy rain strips away silica and bases, and the dry spell allows the residual oxides to accumulate and harden. The defining behaviour is irreversible hardening on exposure to air, which gives the name from the Latin for brick, and which is why laterite has long been quarried as building block along the Konkan coast and in Goa. In India it caps the summits of the Western Ghats and occurs in the Eastern Ghats, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya. Agriculturally it is acidic and poor in nitrogen, phosphate, potash, calcium and humus, so it needs liming and manuring, but with irrigation it supports cashew, rubber, tea, coffee and tapioca. Where lateritisation goes furthest it concentrates aluminium enough to yield bauxite.
Don’t Confuse It With
Laterite forms in place by leaching, so it is a residual soil, in contrast to alluvial soil which is transported and deposited by rivers. Bauxite is the aluminium ore produced where lateritisation is most extreme, so it is a product of the same process rather than an unrelated rock. Regur or black cotton soil derives from weathered Deccan basalt and is clayey and moisture-retentive, behaving almost oppositely in cultivation. Red soil owes its colour to the same iron oxide but has undergone less intense leaching than laterite.
Hindi Meaning
लैटेराइट; लैटेराइट मिट्टी for laterite soil and रेगुर for black cotton soil.
Common Questions
- Why does laterite harden on exposure to air?
- Drying causes the residual iron and aluminium oxides to cement irreversibly, so the material sets like brick, which is the origin of its name and the basis of its use as a building block.
- What crops grow on laterite soil?
- With liming, manuring and irrigation it supports plantation crops such as cashew, rubber, tea, coffee and tapioca, since it is naturally acidic and low in nutrients.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Prelims 2025 — Indian Geography
- Prelims 2018 — Soils
- Prelims 2015 — Soils
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Laterite” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
